In “Star Trek,” intergalactic travelers used the Universal Translator gadget to communicate with Klingons and other beings that didn’t speak the Federation Standard Language (which happened to be English—lucky for us).
Today’s translation technology represents science fiction come to life. Check out these four translation apps to discover why it’s a good time to be a nerd in the tour industry.
Microsoft Translator
Translation tool with instant translation for multiple languages
translator.microsoft.com and in app stores
An American, a German and a Russian walk into a bar. The American says, “Let’s all be friends. I’ll buy the next round!”
Perplexed, the German and the Russian smile and go back to their phones. They don’t speak English, so … awkward.
But then the German yells out a happy “Ich habe eine Idee!” and starts pointing to an app on his phone. He gestures for everyone to download Microsoft Translator, and within seconds, the three are all using the instant translation feature. The German repeats again, “Ich habe eine Idee!” and the American and Russian cheer because his words, “I have an idea,” are now instantly translated on their phones.
Microsoft Translator has been around for a while, but recently they made game-changing improvements that will help all of us immediately. Nerdy tech folks call this technology “deep learning” and “neural networks,” but they’re just making those terms up. It just means that technology is becoming smarter than we are.
The conversation feature lets someone set up a “room” for chatting. You just put your first name and choose the language you speak. The app offers instant speech-to-text translations for some languages, such as English, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and others, and it translates text (but not speech) in dozens of additional languages.
To interact, you press the microphone and start talking. As many as 100 of your tour participants can see what you’re saying—instantly translated on their screens—and they can respond in their own languages, which will be translated on your device.
Google Translate
Translation tool with augmented-reality tools
translate.google.com and in app stores
Just like Microsoft’s option, Google Translate can handle audio and written translation jobs. But Google’s best party trick is its use of augmented reality on printed material. The mobile app lets you scan words and watch them magically transform to another language in real time on your screen (see sample above). The feature will help you read menus at exotic restaurants.
Skype
Instant chat tool with simultaneous translations
skype.com and in app stores
We all know Skype as the instant video chat tool that started a revolution in long-distance relationships, but its newest features help keep it relevant and helpful for tour professionals. The Windows app offers instant translation in eight languages and text translations for more than 50 others.
TextGrabber
Translator app with optical character recognition, which converts images of text into digitized characters.
textgrabber.pro and in app stores
Abbyy, the maker of FineScanner, uses its exceptional OCR tools in TextGrabber to digitize printed material and translate it instantly. What’s more, the work happens without an internet connection.
Beth Ziesenis is Your Nerdy Best Friend. She is the author of several books on technology including “The Big Book of Apps: Your Nerdy BFF’s Guide to (Almost) Every App in the Universe.”
