The Offline Speech Translation capabilities of Timekettle’s newest M2 Earbuds add to Timekettle’s WT2 Plus translation technology, along with providing many classic earbud functions, like listening to music, making calls, and asking Siri to tell a joke.
As translation technology becomes more and more relevant in global communication, the industry is witnessing creative strategies to optimize user experience with practical, user-friendly gadgets and apps. Between developments like a tech startup’s Smart Mask and Microsoft Translator’s Auto Mode, innovation continues to thrive and adapt to the demands of a multilingual world.
Adding to the array of translation technology, AI company Timekettle Technologies has emphasized the user experience of its translation technology with the creation of its True Wireless (TWS) M2 Translator Earbuds. When connected to a smart phone, a user can tap the M2 to activate the voice assistant, which then records the user’s speech and provides a near real-time machine translation. The M2 builds upon Timekettle’s earlier attempts at earbuds. Currently supporting 40 different languages and 93 accents, the Timekettle M2 mirrors the language capacity of Timekettle’s WT2 Plus, with the addition of offline language packets available for download.
Partnering with enterprises like Google, Microsoft, and iFLYTEK, Timekettle has optimized the speed and accuracy of the translations. Furthermore, with the numerous accents the voice assistant possesses, the earbuds do not just translate language, but localize the translations to better capture nuances and idiosyncrasies across multiple languages, dialects, and accents. When prompted, the earbuds will record the user’s speech and produce a near real-time machine translation of the speech, tailoring the accent to the relevant locale.
Powered by a Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.0 chip and Qualcomm’s aptX Audio Codec Compression, the earbuds also perform many normal earbud functions, like playing music and podcasts, making phone calls, or delivering demands to a phone’s AI. However, with the latest.
Like the WT2 Plus, the M2 includes three different modes, depending on a user’s desired function. Working in conjunction with the Timekettle app, Lesson Mode allows the user to capture speech from a speaker in the room or external audio and translate the speech into the user’s native language. Alternatively, Speaker Mode translates the users spoken speech and plays it through the speaker of the phone. Finally, in Touch Mode, two users would wear one earbud, respectively, and tap the force sensor on the M2 to provide near-simultaneous translated playback.
The latter mode might pose risks during the pandemic, with two users sharing the same earbuds and possibly contributing to the spread of contagious illness. However, Timekettle also has created the ZERO Portable Mini Translator, which plugs into the user’s phone and records speakers of up to four different languages with its four-microphone and adaptive noise cancelling technology.
Another pitfall with the M2 is its inability to translate in-call speech. It currently can only record speech in person and provide the translated playback.
While translation technology is still developing to meet the rising demands for translation services, the push for innovation with focus on a product’s UX design will continue to cultivate user interest, especially when people can move about more freely and take full advantage of the newest developments.
