In his amazing 1911 novel Ralph 124c 41 +, Hugo Gernsback writes about a device that can translate the spoken word from one language to another in real time:
"I beg your pardon, but "Central" seems to have made another mistake..."
Her reply indicated that the mistake of "Central" was a little out of the ordinary, for he had been swung onto the Intercontinental Service, as he at once understood when she said, "Pardon, Monsieur, je ne comprends pas!"
He immediately turned the small shining disc of the Language Rectifier on his instrument till the pointer rested on "French."
"The service mistakes are very annoying," he heard her say in perfect English.
Google has been working hard on this problem; I wrote about their Google translator phone eight months ago. It turns out that this device is not quite as close as previously reported.
Take a look at the following video that shows Google's idea on how to do text translation; putting the result into speech is less difficult.
(Inside Google translate)
Not to be left behind, Microsoft has also been hard at work on this idea; take a look at their "Translating Telephone" demo in the following video.
(Microsoft Translating Telephone)
Two giant corporations, each with their own approach to the problem, each with vast resources - when will I get my language rectifier? Alas, not this year.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/13/2010)
Zoom Education Idea Is 100 Years Old
'... the frosted glass squares began, one by one, to show the faces and shoulders of a peculiar type of young men.' - Harry Stephen Keeler, 1915.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.'
Deflector Plasma Screen For Drones ala Star Wars
'If the enemy persists in attacking or even intensifies their power, the density of the plasma in space will suddenly increase, causing it to reflect most of the incoming energy like a mirror.'