Zoom is acquiring Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions (Kites) with the intention of developing the ability to enhance and institute real-time language translation for video calls. Applying this technology could change how businesses and people interact with each other at the international level and acquiring Kites could be the beginning of seamless real-time translation, making it even easier to talk to anyone, no matter geographical location.
Back in 2015, Kites was started by co-founders Dr. Alex Waibel and Dr. Sebastian Stüker who are currently faculty members at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. They have a team of twelve research scientists who focus on improving Machine Translation (MT). The idea of Machine Translation is one thing, but turning it into a viable product that serves the public is quite another. Meanwhile, Zoom has experienced extraordinary growth over the last year and is now hoping its latest purchase will further help to break down language barriers.
The acquisition brings Zoom one step closer to “making collaboration frictionless” and, with Kites helping along the way, the company may be closer to implementing the technology more effectively. Zoom is possible the perfect platform to implement and test real-time Machine Translation, considering it is one of the widest used video conferencing applications, made popular by the COVID-19 pandemic. By implementing real-time Machine Translation, users who speak completely different languages, even with varying dialects, might be able to communicate in an effortless manner. The technology would effectively open the whole world up for seamless communication without the need for hired translators. While this acquisition is still in the early stages, it could be the start of seamless translation becoming the norm in modern communication.
The Current State Of Machine Translation
For years Machine Translation has been the dream of many. Of course, there are tools like Google Translate that can effectively translate from one language to another. Google does this in a couple of different ways. The user can type out a sentence and have it directly translated into the selected language, or they can take a photo of written language and Google will attempt to recognize symbols and characters for translation. The method that is currently closest to Machine Translation is conversation mode in Google Translate. This mode allows both parties to hold a conversation while Translate listens for both languages and displays the written translation within the app. None of these methods are good enough for Zoom, however, with the company looking to take things a step further.
Real-Time Machine Translation isn’t a fleshed-out technology yet and, to be honest, it seems a long way out. Different factors contribute significantly to being able to accurately translate human speech, including heavy accents or even speaking in complicated sentences. As this acquisition is so new, Zoom understandably hasn’t provided any estimate on when this technology will be ready, but Kites feels good about where MT is headed, stating “We know Zoom is the best partner for Kites to help advance our mission.”
