I came across this recent video (only 9 days old) about how Google is planning to break down language barriers using augmented reality. Users wear glasses that show translation of speech in real-time with great precision (hopefully). This technology will allow us to have a conversation with someone who speaks a language we don’t understand. Or it could also be used to improve communication between individuals because someone might know how to speak your language but without the same depth and efficiency as in their native language. I imagine most of us know from experience how it feels to speak in a second language and wish you could just switch to your first language to explain something better.
A technology like this could open a whole new dimension of inter-cultural communication which would allow more collaboration and relationship building among individuals around the world. How do you imagine this could impact education?
This is a really neat product! What a gift it would be to hear my grandma speak dutch and be able to understand her. It’s funny to think of many people wearing the exact same pair of glasses, especially when they are not so subtle in appearance. For someone who wears glasses already just to see clearly, this technology would mean I forego that—this would be a trade-off. Perhaps a similar technology could exist, but not in the form of eyewear. I do see that the advantage of the eyeglasses is that you can continue to make eye contact with the person(s) you’re speaking to.
I think learning a new language is a real art and a skill—I’m not sure that these glasses could replace the need for teachers/tutors who teach languages, though they might be a useful aid in the process.
Hello Andrea, thanks for sharing your ideas! I was also wondering about how this could be done without the glasses. I think that like we’ve seen with most technologies, these start quite voluminous (although glasses are not bad if we compare them with VR headsets) and then get finer and finer. If smart glasses become very popular (some argue they might replace smartphones) I would imagine designers would come up with creative ways of making them subtler in appearance. Or who knows! Maybe contact lenses that are easy to put on and have AR functions. It’s far out but not impossible, I think!
This is an excellent encapsulation of what mobile technologies could do to assist with linguistic barriers. I believe that the fundamental technological innovation is actually the augmented reality of the glasses rather than the real-time translation. As seen in this humourous Google ad, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntLvUhm2kkc ) the company has integrated this real-time translation into their mobile phones, which supports the depth and efficiency of cross-language conversation that you mentioned. In the same advertisement, you can see the individual looking at the screen to read the translation, whereas the posted video eliminates that requirement. The inclusion of augmented reality makes the process more efficient, as well as promotes more authentic personal relationships. I find that students who are learning English are often self-conscious about needing translation devices around their English-speaking peers and this innovation could allow for more student agency, while also allowing for students to see the textual representation of spoken words allowing for multiple types of learning simultaneously.
Thank you for sharing these ideas, Braden. You’re right – the innovation here is the augmented reality feature that the glasses enable, which improves the user experience of the already existing Goole real-time translation technology. Thanks for pointing that out. The other point you make about how the textual representation of spoken words could allow learning is very interesting. I think this would apply if the person is using this technology for the purposes of learning the other language, as opposed to someone who is using it solely for the purposes of translation. I remember that learning another language and watching tv shows with captions allowed me to make connections between the two languages, which was very helpful and efficient. It would be very interesting to see how learning would unfold if both sides of the conversation were using the technology to learn each other’s language. Also, I think that even if someone wasn’t using it for learning, he/she would inevitably start to make connections between what is heard and read, and there would be an organic learning process.
This is very interesting! I think the job market for teaching languages and tutoring would slowly come to an end. Learning languages would probably turn into a hobby and not a fundamental need when moving or visiting a new country. I would probably lose my job, but I would definitely be happy if a technology like this would break down language barriers. I believe this technology could get even better in the future by using smaller devices rather than having to wear glasses. Thank you for sharing Eduardo!
My pleasure! Thanks for sharing your ideas, Maria. Yes, I can see the teaching languages becoming less necessary if this technology moves forward. Just imagine if the glasses weren’t necessary as you suggest, or if, instead of a text translation, you would get an audio translation. I think this ideas are not so far out and we will see it soon!