Speaker-Aware Translation for Hearing Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current approaches to enhancing human abilities such as hearing and language comprehension are limited by social stigma, inefficiency, and the inability to effectively manage increasing amounts of information, particularly in situations involving language barriers and declining sensory capabilities with aging or environmental factors.
Innovation Solution
The Ability Enhancement Facilitator System (AEFS) uses speaker-related information from utterances to perform automatic language translation, enhancing user abilities by determining demographic and identifying information, and configuring language translation accordingly, presenting translations visually or audibly through connected devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If automatic language translation is implemented, then language barrier communication is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an automatic language translation system that acts as an intermediary between speakers of different languages. The system captures speech signals, translates them in real-time, and presents the translated output to users, thereby mediating communication across language barriers without requiring direct bilingual capability from the users themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual translation methods (such as human interpreters or physical phrase books) with an automated electronic translation system. This substitution uses computational algorithms and speech processing technologies to perform translation tasks that would otherwise require human intervention, thereby reducing the need for complex human coordination while managing system complexity through automation.
2Measurement precision
If speaker-related information processing is added to enhance translation accuracy, then translation precision is improved, but information processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-processing and analyzing speaker-related information (such as demographic data, contextual cues, and speech characteristics) before the actual translation occurs. This advance preparation allows the translation system to be pre-configured with relevant parameters, thereby improving translation accuracy while minimizing the time added during the actual translation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuity of useful action by implementing real-time processing where speaker-related information analysis and translation occur in a continuous, integrated workflow rather than as separate sequential steps. The system continuously captures speech signals, extracts relevant information, performs translation, and presents output without significant interruptions, thereby maintaining both accuracy and efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for ability enhancement are described. Some embodiments provide an ability enhancement facilitator system (“AEFS”) configured to automatically translate utterances from a first to a second language, based on speaker-related information determined from speaker utterances and/or other sources of information. In one embodiment, the AEFS receives data that represents an utterance of a speaker in a first language, the utterance obtained by a hearing device of the user, such as a hearing aid, smart phone, media player/device, or the like. The AEFS then determines speaker-related information associated with the identified speaker, such as by determining demographic information (e.g., gender, language, country/region of origin) and/or identifying information (e.g., name or title) of the speaker. The AEFS translates the utterance in the first language into a message in a second language, based on the determined speaker-related information. The AEFS then presents the message in the second language to the user.