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Goodbye Rosetta Stone!: Star Trek's Universal Translator Nears Reality Thanks To Prototype Microsoft Program

November 12, 2012 / a lot of times i don't order what i want from a restaurant because i don't know how to pronounce it and i get embarrassed, chinese, demonstration, goodbye rosetta stone!, language, micrsoft, not bad, ordering has never been easier!, speech, talking, the future is now (or near now at least), translation, translator, what did you just call me?!, words

universal-translator.jpg

This is a video of Microsoft's Chief Research Officer Rick Rashid explaining and demonstrating their speech recognition software that can translate his English into other languages (in this case Chinese) in his own voice. The implications this has for ordering at ethnic restaurants are profound. Also, I'm going to be the toughest sounding French speaker ever. I know it's probably hard for you to believe, but I have this really deep, booming man-voice that can shake mountains. One time I even caused an earthquake. "You sure it wasn't something else?" I'm sure, I was yelling at the time. "So...?" SO PROOF POSITIVE, BROBRO. God, drop it already, it was me.

Hit the jump for the video, most of which is just explaining the technology (actual demo starts around 7:00.

Thanks to MannaFromKevin, who expressed an interest in yelling at his coworkers in Klingon. Me? I want to yell at my coworkers in the language of throwing things.

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There are Comments
  • Carl

    I really don't believe in this video. The speech recognition is so well written and contains not much miss-spelling. Normally, there is at least a few mistakes. And Microsoft is usually far from perfection. It looks more like the guy memorized a speech a then the computer recognize where he is at. About the translation to another language, use Google Translate and let the text to speech read the whole thing, it will be similar as what we saw. Anyways, that's only my point of view.

  • Guest

    I really don't believe in this video. The speech recognition is so well written and contains not much miss-spelling. Normally, there is at least a few mistakes. And Microsoft is usually far from perfection. It looks more like the guy memorized a speech a then the computer recognize where he is at. About the translation to another language, use Google Translate and let the text to speech read the whole thing, it will be similar as what we saw.

  • Chris Roberts

    DAMNIT!!! I had this idea a few months ago. back to the drawing board

  • I don't trust it: the dictation software he's using isn't even accurate...

    ...I don't think it sounds like him at all, either...

  • who fucking cares? he's talking in english and some sort of electronic device repeats it in a language he does not know..

  • Llort

    Took more than 2 seconds to load... not gonna watch. Better luck next time MS.

  • lol

  • ilikepie59

    Chinese is not a language. There are many languages in China, and the most dominant are Mandarin and Cantonese.

  • NI MEN HAO-DY TRAMPOLINA

    Bu dui.

  • Leonidas Argidisouvlaki
  • ilikepie59

    I stand corrected.

  • lulz

  • FUCKING THIRD

  • its only because our future Chinese masters want to know what we are mumbling behind their backs (and the live translation will be in your own voice !)

  • n_a_a_s

    GWs writeup... lolz :) As for this real time voice mimicking translator software, awesome!

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