Check out the first step to a Star Trek-style universal translator

warfare - zones such as Afghanistan never have enough interpreters , often forcing soldiers to rely on nonverbal communication that ’s easy misunderstood . Three new devices solve that by automatically transform one language to another – and you may see it in action !

The National Institute of Standards and Technology have been testing translation devices for the last four years . Three systems create by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have made the leap from relatively clunky microphone and laptop computer to something that can work on a regular bright phone , give the translation devices unprecedented portability . The overall DARPA task , dubbed TRANSTAC , aims to cut down the reliance on human translators , who are often in short provision and are n’t always trustworthy .

you’re able to see a video below show the translators ( along with an opening crown of the hat to Star Trek ) . The best part of all this ? know how often military gadget finally trickle down to the civilian world , these machines should make traveling to foreign countries in 2020 a whole passel light .