The Wearable Translation Device That’s Also a Mask; Practical, but Still Not Human

In a post-coronavirus world, solutions are being sought left, right and centre to bring back some sort of normalcy to life whilst respecting the threat is still very real. Through mask-wearing and social distancing, adapting this into our day to day work and social lives has been a challenge but a necessary one. Whilst here at Talking Heads we have implemented many changes to provide our translation services not just remotely but also in-person whilst staying safe and socially distanced, other industries are still looking for a safe way back to normalcy. With the rise in PPE demand across the world, creative solutions are being sought to help. One of these comes in the form of a face mask that also provides translation into 8 different languages.

Called the C-Face Smart mask, it’s a wearable translation device from Japanese startup Donut Robotics to specifically aid communication and social distancing. The wearer can translate from Japanese into English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, and Indonesian, and links to the wearer’s smartphone. Whilst it will have a one-off purchase price of between $40-$50, it will require an ongoing subscription for its transcription and translation services, due to launch in Japan in December before other parts of the world later in 2021. So, could this wearable translation device be the perfect solution to face-to-face translation?

Human is Best

Well much like Google Translate, whilst the technology is impressive, it’s still no match for human translation. With the smart mask in particular, the wearer is effectively talking to their phone that then machine translates what they are saying and replays this through the mask’s speaker for others to hear. It’s also not COVID-19 friendly as the wearer will still need to wear a standard face mask underneath the wearable translation device due to the air vents at the front, so it’s not quite the all-in-one solution it may seem.

Whilst the technology will continue to improve, there is still a long way to go before machine translation will usurp the human approach. When using a translator who is a native speaker of the language you wish to translate into, there is no match for the speed and efficiency of that translation. Localization is incredibly important with translation, as certain phrases, words, and terms do not directly translate, something that machine translation still struggles with. Add to this slang words, tone and context, the human ear is much better at picking this up and translating appropriately. So, whilst it’s great to see creative solutions in wearable translation devices being found, here at Talking Heads we will stick with the human is best approach for a little while longer.

Want to find out more about our award-winning translation services? Please contact us today and we’ll be happy to talk you through the ways we’ll assist your brand with accurate, human translation.