The latest translating hearable doesn't rely on smartphones

More firms are vying to create the future of universal understanding with translation hearables, or smart wearables for the ear. These devices are most commonly a form of wireless earbuds that connect to a smartphone and rely on translations services from companies like Google and Baidu. Australian startup Lingmo International is now eliminating the need for the second device by integrating IBM Watson artificial intelligence into its new Translate One2One earpiece.

Though technologists like to dream big, this translation tech is a little more hobbled than the fabled Babel fish depicted in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” That fish offered universal understanding of other languages. The One2One isn’t quite as revolutionary. There will be a little bit of a delay, but only for about three to five seconds, according to Lingmo. Not requiring a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection is an important step forward in portable translation, though.

The One2One utilizes IBM Watson's Natural Language Understanding and Language Translator APIs. Most impressively, this technology doesn’t require any connectivity to work. The processing happens right on the device. It even understands different dialects, according to Lingmo.

Unfortunately, one big limitation for the device that each person talking and listening needs to be wearing a One2One. This should help for accuracy, though, and Lingmo does appear to be largely targeting business users. The average consumer is probably happy to get by with a smartphone app. The One2One will sell for $179 or $229 for a two-pack.