In Japan, a company is developing a window that displays a real-time translation of a person’s words. A technology that tends to become more popular in the land of the rising sun.
When it comes to translating, at present, the reflex of many is to turn to applications dedicated to this activity such as Deepl, or to simply use Google Translate. But a company based in Japan had a different idea to allow foreigners to chat with Japanese people without having to keep their nose in their phone. Enough to improve relations with tourists!
Windows that translate instantly
The number of tourists has only exploded in Japan in recent years, having increased 2.5 times in 10 years. And in a country where the average level of English is not very high, this can be a difficulty.
It is in this context that the Toppan company has built a very ingenious new tool, which consists of a transparent window, and which allows a Japanese on one side, and a foreigner on the other, to converse, thanks to a instant translation which is carried out by the device. The words appear in white bubbles, as if you were inside a comic book.
A tool destined to prosper
The Japanese company explains that the particularity of this product, 40 centimeters high and 60 centimeters wide, lies firstly in the fact that it was trained directly in Japanese, to translate a dozen languages ( English, French, Chinese, Korean…). A plus, knowing that most translation tools use English to translate from one language to another. The possibility of an error is thus reduced.
These small windows already exist in several Tokyo stations, in front of the ticket counters. And with their ability to make discussions much more fluid than when you have to write on your smartphone and show it to try to make yourself understood, these windows are increasingly in demand in the archipelago. So don’t be surprised if you ever come across one of them during a trip to Japan!
Source : France Info
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