Interact: A smartphone designed to solve language woes

Our world is divided by countless languages. And not everyone speaks English, so how would you express yourself in a foreign land? Unfortunately life's not so simple, you don't have a Google Translate at your beck and call to look up a foreign word or translate a whole page into your preferred language. This is where the Interact, a smartphone, designed by a German student, comes into picture. The concept has been designed for the international student design award, The James Dyson Award, where the participants were required to "design something that solves a problem."

Interact_Smartphone

Interact_Smartphone

Designed to solve the language woes of frequent travelers, Interact is a very practical and useful device. The smartphone offers simultaneous translation of words being spoken with the help of built-in voice and image processing technology, if a foreign language deterred you from engaging in a conversation before, then there is nothing more to worry with Interact on your hand. You can wear the device using the magnetic attachment and listen to the translation using the acoustic speaker. The smartphone also lets you project or display the translation, coming in handy during business meetings. Quite interestingly, the movement is detected by the camera so it is unlikely that there will be any problem while projecting the translations or interacting while conversing.

Interact_Smartphone

Interact is inspired by Sixth Sense, a gesture based interface that allows you to interact with the physical world developed by Pranav Mistry. It is meant to help you understand different languages, read signs in a foreign land, speak different language, read maps, request others for assistance and thus enjoy your travel. The smartphone also lets you save a translation for later use, a real benefit if you happen to visit the place again after years.

The translating device has been tested thoroughly by simulating different scenarios and how people behave while speaking a foreign language ensuring that it doesn't fail you in times of need, Interact, thus, is an interesting device, which can be very useful in todays' world for reading signs, getting to know different places and people, learning from each other and growing.

Via: JamesDysonAward