NTT Docomo to launch second trial of cloud-based language translator mobile phone

Japanese mobile operator will expand trial to cover 10 languages and 10,000 users

NTT Docomo will conduct a second trial of an experimental cloud-based service for real-time interpretation between Japanese and other languages via mobile devices. The trial is scheduled to take place from 1 June to 30 September.

The first trial, held from November 2011 to March 2012, involved some 1,000 Docomo subscribers and about 70 percent of the participants reported that they would like to use the service again.

In response the second trial will involve about 10,000 users and will expand to cover 10 languages besides Japanese. Seven of the languages will be available for face-to-face communication between participants.

The translator phone service utilizes Docomo’s “network cloud,” which integrates the company’s cloud and mobile network resources to handle the heavy processing required for rapid real-time interpretation.

Interpretation is handled in three steps: machine recognition of spoken words, rendering into another language, and conversion into a voice readout that the other party hears. The network cloud allows interpretation to be processed at the same rapid speed even after the introduction of seven additional languages.

Docomo expects to further enhance its translator phone service based on feedback from this second trial, aiming to launch a commercial service by March 2013.

Alex Dupont

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