Translate spoken language into another and subtitle it – can it work? A start-up from Baden-Württemberg that was bought by the US company Zoom is developing a corresponding software.
After buying a start-up from Karlsruhe, Zoom wants to integrate a translation function into its video conference service.
With the company Kites (Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions), a team of twelve experts will come on board, announced Zoom on Wednesday night. The video conference provider, which has grown explosively during the corona pandemic, is also considering setting up a research center in Germany. Kites was founded in 2015 and specializes in automated translations.
With the acquisition, Zoom could also automatically create transcripts of video conferences in German and other languages. So far, the function is only available in English.
A purchase price was not mentioned. Kites originated from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The technology was originally developed to make it easier for international research teams to work together.
The software can create subtitles in real time, both in the original language of the conversation and in other languages. Kites promises to be able to translate a sentence before it has been completed thanks to predictions based on artificial intelligence. If the context then results in a specification, it can correct itself. The technology for this was developed in-house, emphasized Kites.
Translating conversations using software is much more difficult than translating text because people make mistakes, change sentences when speaking and have dialects.
Zoom had risen to a new league with the corona crisis. The company was originally intended to provide video conferencing for companies. In the pandemic, however, it was not only used in companies: private individuals also use Zoom for all kinds of opportunities – from family reunions to yoga classes. With the success, Zoom’s profits and share price soared.
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