NEC launches eyewear that translates in real time

The new device perfected by NEC allows people of different languages to communicate by providing real-time translations directly on the retina.

The eyeglasses produced by NEC seem to come straight out of a science fiction movie: the device promises to eliminate linguistic barriers by allowing a Chinese speaker to communicate with an Arabic speaker without the use of gestures or dictionaries.

The product, explained the Afp agency, is called Tele Scouter and is a lensless frame fitted with a camera. A microphone picks up the conversation and sends it to a small computer, which is “worn” by the user at waist level and is programmed to translate the conversation.
The information appears before the user’s eyes, something like the subtitles in a movie.
The words are picked up by the microphone, translated and sent to the other person’s earphones and eyeglasses in the form of subtitles. The Japanese company explained that the translation appears only on a part of the retina to avoid “covering” the other person’s face with text.
According to NEC, Tele Scouter could be used also in shopping malls. Connected to a camera and a face recognition program, the device will provide the salesperson with information about everything the customer has bought in the store over the years from a databank set up to reconstruct the purchasing history.
“Knowing each customer’s tastes could be an advantage for the store owner” said NEC head of development Takayuki Omino.
“It is the first time that this technology has been used. A conversation can be held without interruptions”, Omino stated.
The product should reach stores by end-2011.