Learning to communicate fluently in another language is incredibly tough, and misunderstandings that stem from little conversational mistakes can inhibit multicultural connections. A company named Waverly Labs is dreaming of a world without these language barriers, and their answer comes in the form of a simple yet brilliant new in-ear device. The Pilot is a tiny, wearable gadget that uses translation technology to allow two people to speak in different languages and (almost) instantly understand one another.
The little earpiece is accompanied by an app that allows users to scroll through their phones and select which languages they would like to communicate in. Each piece is designed to pick up on common dialects of the selected language, meaning one can converse with any other person who is also wearing an earpiece, and the system works offline and overseas. The Manhattan-based company plans to introduce the system in Latin/romance languages such as English, Spanish, French and Italian but eventually this will grow to include many others such as East Asian, Hindi, Semitic, Arabic and Slavic. The company aims to release The Pilot late fall/early winter of this year, and due to an extraordinary level of public interest, will sell the product on a first come, first serve basis.
After promotional early bird sales of the product are completed, the Pilot is expected to retail at between $249-$299. Each package includes both a Pilot and a secondary earpiece, plus charger and accompanying app. If you want to keep an eye on this amazing advancement in global communication possibilities, developmental updates are available on the company’s Indiegogo page.
Scroll down for a sneak peek of the smart earpiece, The Pilot.
