Thursday, October 12, 2006
Translation device for U.S. troops
The US military may soon be able to communicate better with Iraqis in their own language, thanks to technology developed by IBM that quickly translates spoken English into Iraqi Arabic. The technology could help the military overcome a major hurdle in Iraq, which is the inability of most soldiers to speak Arabic beyond basic phrases, and a shortage of interpreters, International Business Machines Corp and military officials said.
IBM says it has delivered 35 notebook computers with the voice recognition software to be initially used by medical personnel, US Special Operations forces and the US Marine Corps. It will be used to ease communication in medical situations and with Iraqi security forces and citizens.
For now, however, it will not be used in combat or conflict situations that require split-second communications and decision-making, according to IBM. "Our goal is to enable units operating in areas where human interpreters are scarce to communicate effectively with speakers of different languages in real-world tactical situations," said Wayne Richards, branch chief of the US Joint Forces Capabilities Division.
IBM says it has delivered 35 notebook computers with the voice recognition software to be initially used by medical personnel, US Special Operations forces and the US Marine Corps. It will be used to ease communication in medical situations and with Iraqi security forces and citizens.
For now, however, it will not be used in combat or conflict situations that require split-second communications and decision-making, according to IBM. "Our goal is to enable units operating in areas where human interpreters are scarce to communicate effectively with speakers of different languages in real-world tactical situations," said Wayne Richards, branch chief of the US Joint Forces Capabilities Division.
