Tech Trends of 2016: Breaking Language Barriers

Many can agree that communication is key: whether it is in a small, educational environment or on a global scale.  However, there are many different aspects of language and communication, and as a result – many barriers as well.  From gestures to languages, there are many hold-backs that are not allowing certain demographics within our society to excel.  Fascinatingly enough, 2016 has swept in a plethora of new technologies that are changing the way many individuals function  and interact on a day-to-day basis.

Pilot Earphones

Image via Regal Blog

Nope, they are not for pilots.  This new developed technology is an earphone that acts similarly to that of Babel Fish in “Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” – they allow for two people who speak different languages to understand what one is saying to the other, according to the Telegraph.  The Pilot will cost approximately $129 and is available for pre-order off of their website.  At a relatively affordable price, this piece of simple technology will be able to help individuals break any language barrier better and perhaps more efficiently than any translating dictionary.  Waverly Labs, the developers of this technology, claim that “this little wearable uses translation technology to allow two people to speak different languages but still clearly understand each other”.  There is little insight from the developers on how this piece of technology ticks, however they did use the term “translation technology” within their description.

Breaking language barriers has been a progressive movement in more than just this one device.  Skype can now translate between callers who are speaking in different languages.  An article written by Helena Horton of the Telegraph reads:

 “The chief envisioning officer of Microsoft UK has also claimed that in the next five years, we will be able to translate one another from any language to any language with just a smart phone between us.”

SignAloud

Image via Think Process

This piece of technology is a pair of gloves, but it is not ordinary pair of gloves. Two undergraduate students at the University of Washington have worked to invent a new way to communicate, but this time it was beneficial towards those have the ability to hear and those who do not.  Their invention can translate American Sign Language into speech or text.

“Our purpose for developing these gloves was to provide an easy-to-use bridge between native speakers of American Sign Language and the rest of the world,” Azodi told UW Today. “The idea initially came out of our shared interest in invention and problem solving. But coupling it with our belief that communication is a fundamental human right, we set out to make it more accessible to a larger audience.”

According to the Huffington Post, each of the SignAloud gloves has a sensor that is able to record movement or gestures.  They gloves then transmit the information wirelessly to a computer that processes the data and if it recognizes the gesture, it then matches said gesture to an associated word which is then projected through the speaker or displayed as a text.

Where Technology is Headed?

Image via Communication Technology Invasion

The technological trends of 2016 are striving harder and harder to be able to predict their users. While technology always works towards creating simpler or easier lives for people, the key in being able to do that is through understanding the user, their preferences, and ways to recreate our own actions.  According to the Huffington Post, here are the top four tech trends of 2016:

1. Ambient Sensor
   

   Image via Alie Express

   This refers to gadgets that connect our daily lives to the internet.  This takes the creativity of connecting already existing technology for newer purposes.  For instance, we can create a smart baby monitor that sends information to the parents’ phones about their baby’s position, breathing pattern, sleeping temperature, and activity level.  Similarly to how we have devices that measure our sleeping patterns, this will help parents better understand their childrens’ sleeping habits

2. Aggregated Learning
   

   Image via Amazon News

   These technologies refer to artificially intelligent objects such as Google’s self-driving cars.  The way this type of technology operates is that the device is built to collect data and use it to learn from previous mistakes.

3. Predictive Customization
   

   Image via Amazon

   You may have already noticed this – the way that your advertisements on the side of whatever social media you are using happen to line up with a previous google search, whether it was through your computer or a smart phone.  This technology uses machine learning in order to understand your preferences and provide suggestions, however it explores outside of just advertisements and search histories.  The Nest Learning Thermostat learns your environment preferences and appropriately adjusts your temperature.
   
   

4. Visual Reality
   

   Image via Prezi

   Perhaps most peoples’ favorite technological advancement because, well, video games.  Headsets from Sony, Samsung, and Facebook’s Oculus Rift have been launched and will likely continue launching, taking virtual reality to a whole new level.

While there are billions of trending and unheard of technologies released every year, there is always some sort of new trend or strategy in their developments. This year, the focus on communication as a trend is making a plethora of breakthroughs that break past limits in a variety of areas from video games to those who are impaired from communicating to their fullest potential.