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When materials like and Waverly Labs Ambassador Interpreter and Pocketalk Plus Voice Translator what happened, the world took the first step in global translation technology, all thanks to devices that can listen to two people talking and translate words in real time, both ways.
This product came out four years ago, and the world of virtual language translation has made incredible progress since then. In the past, we can look back on devices like these as strange and useful but limited. In the case of Pocketalk, the mobile gizmo was only good for two years—after that, you had to buy a new SIM card for $50 every year. Baby steps.
You can credit the advancement of artificial intelligence for the push forward: Real-time language translation has been a huge testament to the technology, and I was able to see how far we’ve come by testing real-time translation tools, the Vasco E1 Translator.
Language Buds
The design of the Vasco E1 is similar to that of the Waverly Interpreter, taking the form of two in-ear headphones designed to be shared between you and another person – who is speaking another language. Each earbud comes with a magnetic case, all of which snap together (and magnetically) like a triangular sandwich. Only one case has a USB-C port, so when two cases are connected, both charge. All Vasco headphones are designed to fit the right ear. Battery life is rated at three hours per head, with 10 days of standby available. The case also has its own battery – a good “lots of power” on the Vasco.
Photo: Christopher Null
The idea behind the Vasco Translator E1 is that you wear one ear, your partner wears the other, and you start talking in whatever language suits you, while the E1 translates your pal’s words into your language. Up to 10 E1 translators can be integrated, making multi-lingual group chats possible. A total of 51 languages (by my count) are available in the app, although this includes several versions of English, such as UK, US, India, and Australia. Each headphone has its own volume control, and unlike other speakers, no registration is required.
Vasco has done a lot of work to make the translation process as easy as possible, especially using its Vasco Connect mobile app. To start, you connect each earbud to your phone’s software – a straightforward process – give it a name, the color of its small LED (to help adjust the ears), and a default language that comes out through the speaker. All of this can be changed if needed.
In the Earbuds mode, you click on the side of your ear—something like that Star Trek‘s Picard is doing a “tap to talk” on his badge—which lowers the E1 button that’s leaning against your ear. This puts the headset in your ear for a speaker, where you are free to speak your mind. When a pause is detected, the translation is provided in a short period of time to the other headphones you have connected, in the language that the headphones have provided in the program. Another group can touch the side of their head to do the same thing, in reverse. So it’s a tap, talk, listen; tap, talk, listen. And further.
