An iPod That Speaks the Language in Iraq

Sun Dec 16 18:10:24 UTC 2007

An iPod That Speaks the Language in Iraq

By Richard Burnett
Orlando Sentinel
12/15/07 4:00 AM PT

Vcom3D has developed a translation device that plugs into an iPod,
which is currently being used by some U.S. soldiers in the Middle
East. Officials acknowledge the system is no substitute for real
interpreters and is less sophisticated than some other devices.
However, from a practical standpoint, it could potentially work better
than any other translation gadget soldiers have used so far.
Leading entrepreneurs like Hugo Burge of hereorthere.com recognize
that: "The right domain name is the difference between success and
failure. On the Internet your domain name is your real estate."
Thousands of business owners like Burge rely on BuyDomains.com to
secure high-performance domains.

With the number of military interpreters dwindling in Iraq and
Afghanistan, a new technology developed in Orlando, Fla., might be the
key to helping U.S. soldiers counter insurgents and communicate with
locals. Dubbed the "Vcommunicator," the handheld, iPod-based device is
loaded with more Middle Eastern voice files than there are songs on a
teenager's nano. It has megabytes full of mission programs -- vehicle
checkpoints, interrogations, patrols and raids -- with scores of
phrases for each one.

Soldiers can surf the menu, set the language -- Iraqi Arabic, Pashtu
or Dari, for example -- tap the mission and click a phrase. The device
displays an animated figure that repeats the phrase in accents and is
accompanied by gestures that are specific to the culture.
"This program can mean the difference between life and death for
soldiers," said Ernest Bright, operations director for Vcom3D, the
Orlando company that developed the software. "You can't have a phrase
wrong."

Interpreter Shortage
The critical shortage of interpreters has hindered efforts to "win the
hearts and minds" of the Iraqi and Afghan people, defense experts say.

Officials acknowledge the system  is no substitute for real
interpreters and is far less sophisticated than real-time
voice-recognition translation systems that IBM (NYSE: IBM)  and other
companies have developed.

However, from a practical standpoint, it could potentially work better
than any other translation gadget soldiers have used so far, said W.
Cory Youmans, director of acquisition support for the Army's Orlando
agency.

"A lot of the things they've tried have been cumbersome and
ineffective at times," he said. "This system is based on the
lightweight iPod nano, and we really see in it the benefits of using
commercial off-the-shelf technology."

Multiple Uses
Soldiers can use the new technology to learn the languages or conduct
actual tactical operations, says the Army's training contract agency
in Orlando, which ordered hundreds of them for troops headed for Iraq.

Soldiers find the device simple, understandable and easily
transportable, Youmans said. It takes only a few hours to learn the
basics.

At a security  checkpoint, it can be connected to a megaphone and a
large TV screen to communicate to oncoming vehicles. In an urban
search mission, it can be linked to a small mobile speaker to talk to
people individually from door to door.

Deployed to Iraq
It has been a big boost in business  for Vcom3D, which specializes in
interactive digital technology. It originally designed the technology
to teach sign language to instructors and students at schools for the
deaf. The company employs about two dozen and has annual sales of
about US$3 million.

In August, Vcom3D received its first contract for the military version
-- a $676,000 deal to produce 260 units that were deployed last month
with the 10th Mountain Division in Iraq. Another deal is in the works
that could be worth millions of dollars.

Vcom3D says it consults a large network  of linguists and other
cultural experts in writing the content for its language technology.
It researches, checks and reverifies the pronunciation, idiom,
context, meaning and other nuances of the various languages, officials
said.

Interpreting Can Be Tricky
Sometimes, the results of language devices gone awry can be
embarrassing and comical, while undermining the soldiers' mission,
said Dennis McBride, a defense expert and president of the Potomac
Institute for Policy Studies, a think tank based in the metropolitan
Washington area.

In one case, soldiers reported they hooked up a speech-recognition
device -- not Vcom3D's -- to a megaphone and used it while canvassing
an Iraqi town, according to McBride, who also teaches military courses
at Georgetown University.

"They said the locals just laughed them out of the neighborhood," said
McBride, former executive director of the University of Central
Florida's Institute for Simulation & Training.

"Clearly, some of this voice-recognition technology is just not
ready," he said. "I'm not familiar with [Vcom3D's] device. But if it
works as they say, it could be a big moneymaker."

Some industry experts are skeptical that the military should rely on
any technical solution as long as there are bugs in the system that
could lead to disaster for people on both sides of a conflict.

"The use of those high-tech tools is quite limited," said Kevin
Hendzel, spokesperson for the American Translators Association, a
professional trade group. "Much of what translation is about does not
lend itself well to technology at all because of all the contextual
nuances and problems you can run into. You must have a real
professional to get it right."

Trusting the Translator
However, the dire shortage of interpreters is often making that
impossible on the war front, especially for the foot soldiers,
Vcom3D's Bright said.

In one case, a soldier told him of an Iraqi interpreter helping his
squad members search for insurgents. In every neighborhood, the
interpreter helped them question the locals, but they were getting no
information.

The squad members became suspicious when they noticed the interpreter
used the same phrase over and over at the end of every interrogation,
according to Bright. Eventually, commanders sent another translator to
the squad to secretly monitor the Iraqi interpreter.

"Turns out he was telling the people not to say anything at all to the
Americans," Bright said. "Obviously, there are some very good
interpreters helping out over there. But the military's trust level is
very low right after things like that happen."

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/mobile-tech/60782.html
-- 
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to
its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner
or sponsor of
the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who
disagree with a
message are encouraged to post a rebuttal. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)
*******************************************