The Universal Speech Translation Advanced Research Consortium (http://www.ustar-consortium.com/) is an international research consortium conducting research and development on a network-based speech-to-speech translation (S2ST) system, with the aim of breaking the language barriers of the world. U-STAR uses the ITU-T standardization protocols, F.745 and H.625. This is the multi-device application "VoiceTra4U-M". It helps multiple users (up to 5) communicate in different languages in real time, either face to face or remotely. The application contributes to breaking the barriers of modalities other than language as well. For instance, it helps users to communicate with the visually-impaired via spoken word, or with the hearing-impaired via text input. This application mainly targets the field of travel-related conversations in airports, hotels, shops, or restaurants. The application covers 31 languages (See the list of Languages). The speech data collected by using this application will be utilized for improving the speech translation technology being developed through U-STAR research. |
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| 1. User Registration | 2. User Profile | 3. Self Test | 4. Test Screen | |||
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| Create your account. | Push the language select button on the top-right of the screen, choose a language that you want to use, then tap the "Complete" button. | Push the "Test" button. | Tap the microphone button, and Speak a short sentence related to Travel such as "Where is the station?" into the microphone and check if your words are translated. To translate into another language, tap the flag icon. |
How to chat
| 1. Find friends | 2. Select friends and call | 3. Calling | 4. Begin Chat | |||
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| Search friends by user name. | Select friend(s) to chat with in the contact list and tap the "Call" button. You will be asked to input codes if a Friend Filter is set. | The chat will begin when your friend(s) respond. | After the chat begins, you can input speech or text and you'll see it translated into your friends' language. | |||
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| User Registration | |
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Create an account and set your own friend filter to avoid access from strangers. |
| User Profile | |
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You can configure the settings on this screen. You may select your profile picture here, which will appear on the chat screen and for other users to see. |
| Language Settings | |
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The languages available for chat are 31 languages. 31 languages are for test input, 17 for voice input, and 14 for voice output. (See the list of Languages) |
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When you first install the app, your contact list is empty. Tap the "Test" button to test the translation just by yourself. Search friends by user name and invite them to chat. Check the name(s) of user(s) and tap the "Call" button. The maximum number of users available in a chat is 5, so you may invite up to 4 friends. |
| Test Screen | |
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Please tap the flags to select the languages. The languages indicated by the switch is your language. You can do a self test by inputting speech. |
| Talking (Speech Input) | |
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You can input by speech to the microphone. |
| Invite friends to chat with | |
 Receiving screen  Calling screen |
When you are calling someone or someone is calling you, these screens will appear. |
| Begin Chat | |
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Hold the device to your ear as you would to make a phone call, wait for the vibration, and start speaking. When finished speaking, hold the device away from your ear. The recognized speech will appear as text in the balloon next to your picture. You may also start speaking by tapping on the "Speech input" button and end by tapping the "Finish" button. The speech input by other users in the chat will be recognized, translated, and will also appear as text in YOUR language along with the speakers' pictures. The text found in "reverse translation" is the result of your speech; once translated into English and then back into your selected language. You may judge whether your speech has been properly translated and conveyed to other users or not, by checking if the meaning of the sentences in the "reverse translation" is matched or similar to what you have inputted. |
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Making plans for the London Olympics. Purchasing a ticket from India.
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Compatible models
| Q: | Is the application available for iPad or iPod touch? |
| A: | The application can be used for iPad2, iPod touch (4G), and the succeeding models. |
Fee Charge
| Q: | Does the packet flat-rate service cover the telecommunication fee for using this application? |
| A: | Yes, it does. |
Limitation of Chat time
| Q: | Why is the time of chatting confined to one hour? |
| A: | As the number of computers for this experiment is limited, we would like to restrict the chat time to one hour so that we’re able to offer our service to as many users as possible. |
Operation instructions
| Q: | I’d like to show foreign people how to use the application. How do I explain operation? |
| A: | We have the preinstalled language service for operation instructions in Japanese, English, and Chinese within the application. When you configure a foreign language as an input language, and tap the question mark, "?" in the lower section of the screen, it shows the instructions in the language you selected. For instance, if you select Chinese (standard) as input language, the instructions are shown in Chinese (standard), while the explanation is in English for other languages. |
| Q: | The device does not vibrate when it is placed close to my ear. |
| A: | If the application display does not show anything after it has started, please make sure of the following conditions: (1) Check if the vibration setting in "Setting"-"Sound" of your iPhone device is set to "ON" for both "Silent mode" and for "Receiving calls". (2) Please be sure that when you place the iPhone close to your ear, the device is positioned perpendicular to the ground, just like when talking on the phone, whether you are standing or sitting in a chair. It will not vibrate if you are lying down or the iPhone display is tilted downward. (3) Please try using the iPhone without the outer case, if it was enclosed. (4) Vibration occurs when the proximity sensor (it is not readily visible) is triggered. It is may not be triggered if the area close to the upper left of the screen, near the icons of showing antenna intensity or the carrier logos, is covered by the case or seals. |
Performance
| Q: | Some translations are wrong. |
| A: | We developed this application with the aim of performing translation for the travel domain, as follows: "How much does it cost to go to Kyoto station by taxi?" "Can I get a little discount?" "Where is the restroom?" It cannot translate incomprehensible utterances, exclusive words, or sentences outside the travel domain into travel conversation. |
| Q: | "The invited user is not available for now." message appears when making a call. |
| A: | This message appears if one of the following conditions is detected: (1) the user's device is switched off or offline, (2) "VoiceTra4U-M" is not launched on the user's device, (3) the user is on another phone call or chatting with other users, (4) the user has been deleted or has changed the friend filter. |
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