Language translation on the web hasn't improved much over the years. Users might come across a language translation app that has some fancy features, but the overall translation accuracy and innovation are still lacking. With Skype, Microsoft is looking to change this and bring us something exciting and new.
Imagine being able to have a voice chat with anyone in the world over Skype without knowing their language, wouldn't that be interesting? That friend you have on Facebook who lives in Russia; imagine both of you having a chat in your respective languages without worrying about the language barrier problem.
Microsoft's new CEO, Satya Nadella, took to the stage on Tuesday at the inaugural Code Conference in Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif., where he showed the world a technology aimed at breaking down the language barrier, called Skype Translator.
Developed by Microsoft researchers and Skype engineers, Skype Translator uses speech-to-speech translation in real time to let you have a conversation over the Internet with someone who speaks in a different language.
Gurdeep Pall, Skype corporate vice president, demoed the technology on stage, where he had a conversation in English with a German-speaking Microsoft employee over Skype. Their chat was translated in real time in speech and text so both parties could understand.
The whole thing worked almost flawlessly, and it shows that Microsoft, under Nadella's rule, might return to the days of innovation and shooting first.
"It is early days for this technology, but the Star Trek vision for a Universal Translator isn't a galaxy away, and its potential is every bit as exciting as those Star Trek examples," according to Pall in a Microsoft blog post on Tuesday. "Skype Translator opens up so many possibilities to make meaningful connections in ways you never could before in education, diplomacy, multilingual families and in business."
Skype Translate will be available before the end of the year as a Windows 8 beta app. While the beta will no doubt be free to use, Microsoft is not yet certain if it will charge for the full product, or make it available for free. We believe Google will force Microsoft's hand, and the company will have no option but make it available as a free-to-use program.
What Microsoft is doing here is huge and would be a boon for Skype's 300 million regular monthly users.
