Innovation Spotlight Real Time Translation
Industry Overview
Traditionally, communication has been impaired by language barriers, especially in face-to-face interactions. Existing translation methods such as online translators, multilingual dictionaries and interpreters have attempted to surmount this obstacle. However, the options in the market hinder many vital aspects of communication, specifically, body-language, non-verbal cues and tone. Reduction in many key components of communication makes it very difficult to have meaningful face-to-face interaction with people who speak other languages. In the past few years, there have been new technological developments designed to help remove these language barriers. These developments focus on real time language processing, and aim to eliminate the barriers that currently exist with the market options.
Potential Markets
The market potential for these types of technologies is quite large, and is anticipated to further increase as globalization continues to take effect. Potential consumers of this technology likely participate in international business meetings, government meetings, or are foreign exchange students, tourists, and military members. Entrepreneurs and business owners looking to expand internationally, immigrants, refugees as well as professionals looking to work internationally would also derive great benefit from newer innovations.
The global language service industry has been growing at an annual rate of 5.5%, ranked as the 4th quickest growing industry in the United States. The current size of the language technology industry is estimated at $34 billion. According to a report by IbisWorld, this industry is projected to reach $37 billion in 2018, with a growth rate of 6.5-7.5% annually. It is evident that this is a market opportunity that needs to be taken advantage of.
Current Technology Players
A variety of companies are attempting to innovate and transform the translation industry, from billion dollar conglomerates like Google to small tech startups like TimeKettle and Lingmo International.
Google recently announced a wireless headphone similar to Apple’s AirPods called the Google Pixel Buds. The Google Pixel Buds contain a feature that will translate speech in real-time. This feature currently supports 40 languages and with additional languages still to come. The Pixel Buds are priced at $159 which is significantly less than Apple’s $220 AirPods, with translations only requiring 1-2 seconds.
Another product, WT2, from the startup TimeKettle, is a pair of linked headphones dedicated to real-time translation. To use it, you speak in your preferred language and the other user hears the output in their preferred language. They are currently only priced at $99 on Kickstarter. The WT2 currently supports six languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish, with additional languages to come. WT2 surpasses the Pixel Buds in terms of ease of use and accessibility, since usage of the Pixel Buds is dependent upon a Google Pixel phone. The WT2 headphones have a lag time of 3 seconds between translating, but it is still in the prototype stage with developers working on reducing it to less than 1 second.
A third company, Lingmo International, has released their version of a real-time translator called Translate One2One. Lingmo’s product is powered by IBM Watson and uses machine learning in order to continually improve translations. Currently Translate One2One has about an 85% accuracy, significantly higher than many free online translators. Translate One2One also does not require Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, making it especially attractive for tourists. There are currently 9 supported languages; however, there is between a 3-5 second lag when translating. The current product has 3G capabilities and is selling on Lingmo’s website for $279.
Competition
The current landscape in the translation market sees online translators as the largest competition for these products. Since many real-time translating products being developed use similar technology and translating techniques as free online translators, they must enhance the user experience to make their products worthy of a $100+ price tag. Startups today need to utilize their first mover advantage and rapidly grow their consumer base while the industry remains dynamic. Big players such as Apple already have the hardware and technological capabilities in place with their AirPods as well as the acquisition of Beats by Dr. Dre, to begin developing their own products.
Investment Opportunities
Venture capital investment opportunities are present for the smaller companies tackling this industry, such as TimeKeetle and Lingmo. TimeKettle crowdfunded their seed funding stage through KickStarter raising $276,869 off of their original $50,000 goal. The next reasonable step for the company would be to acquire VC funding in order to scale and compete with Google. Google Ventures might have an investment opportunity here by acquiring TimeKettle for their patents and technology to improve what they are currently lacking with the Pixel Buds. Lingno also received angel investing when they first started out and has been operating successfully to date. Angel investors have a great opportunity to receive high returns on investment in many startups entering this industry, but they need to be able to differentiate between which startups are just marginally improving the existing technology, and those that are going to make a significant difference within industry dynamics. Also, investors should ensure that these startups are open to the idea of building a company that has a likely end goal of an acquisition by a powerhouse such as Google and Amazon, as these players are likely to dominate this space sooner or later.
Governments could invest in these technologies once they become more effective and specialized; however, these technologies are currently too premature to be trusted to work consistently and fluidly in formal situations with the military and government.
Pitfalls in the Industry
There are still many pitfalls in the translation industry that need to be considered. Currently, most free online translators are not always accurate and often fail to translate phrases accurately. These companies need to ensure that the underlying translation technology and algorithms perform a function more effectively than current alternatives. Faulty translations have resulted in catastrophically insensitive international marketing campaigns that have affected the images of global brands such as KFC, HSBC, and Ford. If similar cases due to improper translation occur with these products in important one-on-one conversations, then companies may be reluctant to use them until the technology is improved. Another problem with this technology is it reduces the need to learn other languages, causing increased cultural separation. Speaking multiple languages is proven to prevent mental disease such as dementia, improve memory, and increases the ability to multitask. If people become reliant on these technologies, then there is less incentive for people to try and learn new languages and consequently, integrate across cultures.
Impact
These technologies will have several significant impacts on our world once they become increasingly effective. Firstly, they will greatly reduce companies’ base costs by not forcing them to compete for multilingual employees in international business since they can just spend $99 on a WT2 translator that will do the same job. This technology will even further increase the significance and impact of globalization and create a more connected world, since it allows for one-on-one interaction with people around the world, thus eradicating language barriers. With the vast number of new competitors now entering the industry, this is heating up the race of who can make the best real-time translation device. Consumers are bound to have great technological options on their hands within this decade that will completely revolutionize the way individuals communicate across cultures.
Created by QVC Analysts- Connor Winters, John Simo, and Vinson Lee
Click here for the original post
Click here for QVC's team page