Probably one of the biggest reasons why people hold off from traveling to foreign countries is because they are worried about a communication barrier. This makes it infinitely harder to navigate your way around the country, ordering food, asking for information, and so on, but technology has made that easier with apps such as Google Translate.
However even then Google Translate can be slow as you need to type the message, but thanks to an earpiece dubbed the Pilot, it hopes to make traveling a lot easier in the future by translating foreign languages into your native language on the fly. This means that as the other person talks, you’ll get a translation on the spot, almost like you have a translator whispering into your ear.
The Pilot is developed by a wearable tech company called Waverly Labs, and according to its founder Andrew Ochoa, the inspiration came from when he met a French girl and wanted to communicate with her clearly. “It’s the dream, you know? A life untethered, free of language barriers. It’s just that it’s no longer a dream anymore. It’s real.”
Now we can’t speak to its effectiveness since we never tried it, but the company is planning on launching an Indiegogo campaign in which they will crowdfund the funds they need to help make the Pilot a reality. If successful, the earpiece will be available by the spring of 2017. It is expected to be priced at $299 and will launch with support for English, Spanish, French, and Italian, with additional languages to arrive later.