CMU/UofK speech translation press release

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Carnegie Mellon and University of Karlsruhe To Demonstrate Breakthroughs 
> In Cross Lingual Communication and Speech-to-Speech Translation
>
>
>
> Contact:
> Anne Watzman
> Carnegie Mellon
> 412-268-3830
>
> Margit Roedder
> University of Karlsruhe
> 011-49-721-608-8676
>
> For immediate release:
> October 18, 2005
>
>
> PITTSBURGH-Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Karlsruhe's 
> joint International Center for Advanced Communication Technologies 
> (InterACT) will hold an international videoconference at 9 a.m., Thursday, 
> Oct. 27, to demonstrate new breakthroughs in cross-lingual communication.
>
> The videoconference will take place in room 3305 Newell-Simon Hall on the 
> Carnegie Mellon campus, and simultaneously at the University of Karlsruhe.
>
> InterACT director, computer science professor Alex Waibel, who is a 
> faculty member at both institutions, will demonstrate domain-independent, 
> speech-to-speech translation in a lecture, which will be simultaneously 
> translated from English to Spanish to German.
>
> According to Waibel, current speech-to-speech translation systems allow 
> translation of spontaneous speech in very limited situations, like making 
> hotel reservations or tourist shopping, but they cannot enable translation 
> of large, open domains like lectures, television broadcasts, meetings or 
> telephone conversations. The new technology developed by InterACT 
> researchers fills that gap and makes it possible to extend such systems to 
> other languages and lecture types.
>
> Waibel also will illustrate new ways of delivering speech translation 
> services beyond traditional headsets and an audio system. One involves an 
> array of small ultra-sound speakers that can deliver a narrow beam of 
> audio in a foreign language to a particular individual, while others 
> nearby hear the same speech in the original language as it's spoken 
> without disturbance.
>
> Foreign language translation also can be produced through a system that 
> tracks and measures electrical currents on the surface of a person's cheek 
> and throat as they mouth words instead of speaking aloud. The system takes 
> the signal off of electrodes that recognize muscle movement, translates 
> and delivers I as audible sound in another language.
>
> "Thus," said Waibel, "by moving our articulators in English, we can 
> demonstrate the generation of speech in Spanish, German or other 
> languages. In the future, such transducers could be implanted, enabling a 
> speaker to produce any language at will."
>
> In addition to these new technological breakthroughs, Waibel and his 
> colleagues will also demonstrate other developments, including delivery of 
> speech via heads-up display and text, a PDA-based pocket interpreter for 
> fieldwork such as medical relief or military operations, as well as 
> simultaneous translation of videos of European Parliamentary sessions.
>
> About InterACT
> InterACT, headquartered at Carnegie Mellon and the University of 
> Karlsruhe, is dedicated to promoting greater understanding among the 
> world's people without removing cultural and linguistic individuality and 
> diversity. Its researchers build speech, image and text translation 
> technologies that help to improve communication by making the world's 
> language barriers transparent.
>
> About Carnegie Mellon University
> Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of 
> programs in computer science, robotics, engineering, the sciences, 
> business, public policy, fine arts and humanities. More than 8,000 
> undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by 
> its focus on creating and implementing solutions to solve real problems, 
> interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A small faculty-to-student 
> ratio is pervasive on its 110-acre campus. Carnegie Mellon is also 
> distinctive among leading research universities because of 
> conservatory-like programs in its College of Fine Arts. For more 
> information, visit www.cmu.edu.
>
> About the University of Karlsruhe
> The University of Karlsruhe, established in 1825 is the oldest technical 
> university in Germany with programs that emphasize practical experience. 
> Its Computer Science Department, the first of its kind to be established 
> in Germany, was founded in 1972. It has long been ranked number one among 
> other such departments at universities in the German federal union. The 
> student population at Karlsruhe is 16,000. In addition to computer 
> science, the university boasts particular research strengths in 
> engineering, natural and economic sciences, as well as strong programs in 
> the humanities and social sciences. For more information, see 
> www.uni-karlsruhe.de.
>
> ###

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