Timekettle introduces Babel OS to redefine translation technology

For practically a decade, Timekettle has been synonymous with {hardware} innovation in translation units, producing instruments that assist individuals join throughout language limitations. Now, with the launch of Babel OS, the corporate is making an announcement that the way forward for cross-language communication lies within the seamless union of superior software program and {hardware}.

Babel OS has the potential to be a whole sport changer in communication. From real-time, emotionally resonant translations to customizable lexicons tailor-made for particular situations, Babel OS redefines what’s attainable in translation know-how. However what does this imply for Timekettle, its customers and the broader trade?

We wished to know extra, so we sat down for a chat with Timekettle founder and CEO Leal Tian at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. We had been curious in regards to the imaginative and prescient behind Babel OS, the challenges of mixing cutting-edge software program with revolutionary {hardware}, and the way these advances are reshaping the way in which we join between languages.

For us, an important factor is to convey individuals a brand new expertise, so we’re not simply specializing in {hardware}, software program or AI. What actually considerations us is how individuals can actually talk, even when they communicate completely different languages.

Up to now, we have all the time been recognized for our headsets and {hardware}, however no less than 50% of the work is finished by software program. For instance, if you’re utilizing our headphones, the embedded software program, noise cancellation algorithm and communication protocol all belong to the software program facet.

This 12 months, we determined to push the software program to the forefront and let individuals understand how we’re working to verify they’ve a smoother expertise. That is why we launched Babel OS. For us, it isn’t about balancing {hardware} and software program – they’re a part of the identical system, working collectively to ship a novel and immersive expertise.

Sure, I am a sci-fi fan and The Hitchhiker’s Information to the Galaxy is a traditional that everybody is aware of. When you go to our workplace, you may additionally discover a assembly room named Adams, in keeping with the writer. It is an attention-grabbing idea that seems on this story, in addition to in Star Trek and plenty of different sci-fi films, the place translators are all over the place, permitting individuals to speak to one another and even to aliens. Inspiration comes from this sort of creativeness – individuals speaking to one another with out language limitations. It is a gorgeous thought.

Our mission is to make the world much less of a language barrier. And the last word aim is rather like the Babel Fish within the film – you set it in your ear and you do not have to do something. You possibly can speak to anybody, identical to you’re speaking to a detailed pal. And with Babel OS, we present our respect for the novel.

In our opinion, prior to now, instruments like Google Translate and comparable software program or {hardware} centered on translation, not communication. For instance, take into consideration the digicam on the again of your cellphone. Whenever you use it, the aim is not simply to take an image—it is to seize emotion and data. This can be a deeper stage of human intuition. It is the identical with communication. Folks need to join, so that they want translation, however translation is simply a instrument and doesn’t convey intuition.

As people, we’re social animals. Trying again, it turns into clear that every part ought to be centered on how we will present complete communication, not simply translation. The software program or gear used prior to now was extra like back-to-back translations, the place individuals would take turns or move issues backwards and forwards to talk. It wasn’t pure. Our aim, on the technological stage, is to attain simultaneous interpretation.

With Babel OS, we’ve efficiently built-in applied sciences equivalent to speech recognition and speech processing. For instance, on the entrance finish, we course of the voice to make sure that the reception is evident sufficient to translate. And whereas translation accuracy is vital, so is pace. If I talked to you and also you picked up on what I stated each 10 seconds, I would really feel awkward. It’s not pure communication.

Babel OS helps our merchandise ship this revolutionary expertise, making it really feel like you will have an actual translator proper subsequent to you. We’re always enhancing elements like accuracy, pace and naturalness, together with options like AI voice cloning. All of that is geared toward reaching the last word aim: making a Babel-like resolution, enabling actually pure communication throughout languages.

Q. Probably the most fascinating elements of Babel OS is its capacity to duplicate human emotion and tonality. What challenges did you face in growing this function and the way do you see it affecting cross-language communication?

Voice cloning and emotion seize is a really large challenge for us. It is not one thing our firm can develop solely by itself, so we use a mix of our personal know-how and third-party applied sciences.

For instance, if you wish to analyze what somebody is saying, together with their feelings—whether or not they’re offended, completely satisfied, or one thing else—that you must detect these feelings first. Then, you progress on to speech synthesis, or what we name TTS, which is text-to-speech. At this stage, you possibly can add options to information the AI ​​in replicating the feelings detected within the earlier step.

The outcome is just not solely duplicating the genuine voice, but in addition capturing the feelings. It is a complete course of and it isn’t one thing we do alone.

We hope this product will likely be used all over the place sooner or later. Whenever you go to a hospital, reside overseas, journey or attend a enterprise assembly, it have to be there. The last word aim is for it to be so immersive that you just’re not even conscious of its existence. As I discussed, communication is a human intuition. Many of the worth we create and the connections we make come from speaking. That is why we see this as a basic machine for the longer term.

Q. Babel OS appears like a giant step ahead in AI translation. How do you see this innovation shaping the way forward for Timekettle and that of the broader cross-language communication trade?

It is a large step as a result of it integrates all of the know-how we have developed, making communication a lot smoother. As I discussed, we’re shifting in the direction of the Babel Fish imaginative and prescient of the longer term. For now, that is model 1.0, however possibly subsequent 12 months, you will notice model 2.0 with many extra options. It’s a course of and it takes time.

Babel OS is on the market now and powers Timekettle’s newest line of units, together with the brand new W4 Professional headset, WT2 Edge headset, Interpreter Hub X1, and Mini T1 and T1 Handheld Interpreters. These units, enhanced with Babel OS, present real-time human-like translations in 40 languages ​​and 90 accents, optimizing the communication expertise.

Timekettle is at present showcasing Babel OS at CES, the place attendees can expertise its groundbreaking options and study extra in regards to the subsequent steps in cross-language communication. Babel OS marks a major step ahead for Timekettle, however as CEO Leal Tian notes, that is just the start. With fixed updates and future iterations within the works, the way forward for communication is nearer than ever.