Meet Travis, an AI-Powered Pocket Translator for 80 Languages

If you want to communicate well in another language, taking the time to learn and understand it is the best method. However, it takes a massive amount of time to learn just one other language, and with billions of people speaking thousands of languages, learning more than a handful would be nearly impossible.

Sure, you could launch a smartphone app to help bridge the language barrier, but these often drain your battery with extended use, and worst of all, remove all eye contact from a conversation. However, Travis — which currently exists in the form of a massively-overfunded Indiegogo campaign — aims to change that.

The pocket-sized, AI-powered device hears what you or another person says, then translates it into one of more than 80 languages in real-time. Travis uses built-in microphone and speakers and/or headsets to do the actual speaking/listening, and can even access 20 of the world’s most common languages in offline mode, when no SIM card or Wi-Fi connection is available.

Although still a rather large and bulky prototype, its creators hope that the gadget will one day revolutionize face-to-face conversations across the globe. Until then, you can check out Travis on Indiegogo and see a demo of it below.