Google has today announced that it's updated Google Assistant with an "interpreter mode" that allows it to offer real-time translation services in 29 languages.
The company said it's already partnered with Volara and SONIFI to " launch a full-service solution" through which businesses can "get help translating conversations with [their] guests across 29 languages in real time using just a Nest Hub."
It's not hard to see the value in such a service. Language barriers can make even the simplest conversations frustrating--and that's before money gets involved. Allowing people to communicate in their native tongue should help ease a bit of that tension, especially at hotels, airports and banks.
This new interpreter mode also brings the Nest Hub out of people's homes and into their businesses. The device is currently marketed as a digital picture frame that can adapt to its environment and offer easy access to Google Assistant for basic tasks.
Now the Nest Hub can make it easy for businesses to communicate with their (potential) customers as well. We suspect that diversification of the device's audience probably helped Google decide to make it a central part of this interpreter mode.
Google said in the announcement that the new mode will be put to the test right away, too, by launching in numerous locations across several industries. To quote:
"This new solution means that interpreter mode will be expanding to new places like airports (Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport), airport lounges (American Airlines Admirals Club at Los Angeles International Airport, Airport Dimensions), banking (HSBC), organizations managing live sporting events (Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy and Ooredoo at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar), organizations aiding humanitarian efforts (Mercy Corps, Human Rights First) and hospitality management (Delaware North), in addition to more hotels (seven new Caesars Entertainment properties including Bally’s Las Vegas, The LINQ Hotel + Experience, Flamingo Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino and Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, along with Best Western® Hotels & Resorts properties in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and our first international partners Shibuya Stream Excel Hotel Tokyu in Japan and W Doha Hotel & Residences in Qatar)."
More information about the Google Assistant interpreter mode can be found on the Google Developers website.
