The Rotterdam startup Travis is on a mission: to ensure that everyone in the world can communicate and understand everyone. This is why the company is launching a new product line called Travis Blue. Travis Blue understands and translates 60 of the most spoken languages. The company says the speech to speech translation device is intended for young people with a limited budget and unlimited zest to travel the world.
"We want to ensure that everyone can understand each other. That is why we are launching Travis Blue, which, like its predecessor Travis the Translator, translates speech in real time. We have further developed the technology and so we are now launching a new product line for young individuals who like to travel, work abroad and explore new places and cultures. We want to help them discover the world without being bothered by language barriers", says Brend Kouwenhoven, CEO of Travis.
There is a considerable cost difference between Travis Blue and its predecessor, Travis the Translator. It is available for $99 USD, which is equivalent to 79 EUR. Travis hopes to make translation equipment more accessible for a younger audience with smartphones, who are increasingly going abroad to volunteer in developing countries or conflict areas. Without language barriers, Travis points out, this and next generations may have even more impact.
The translation device can be ordered until March 6, 2018, on Indiegogo with deliveries expected in June 2018. Travis Blue is available in three colors and can be used not only as a translator, but also as Bluetooth music speaker connected to the mobile app.
Travis Blue chooses the most suitable translation software in each and every language combination: from major parties such as Google and Microsoft, to smaller translation engines. The software selects the best from fifteen different translation engines.
"Travis Blue also pairs with an app downloaded on your phone, which enables you to put your phone away while using it. This makes eye contact and non-verbal communication possible. Which is not only important to understand each other better, but in that way the conversation is less likely to be disturbed by the sound of incoming messages or phone calls. The enhanced microphone of the Travis Blue makes it possible to use it even in a busy and loud environments," says Kouwenhoven.
Five percent of Travis Blue's profits goes directly to Paper Airplanes, an organization that provides free, one-on-one virtual language and marketable skills education to people affected by conflict.
The team behind Travis (from three continents) created Travis the Translator, developed after successful crowdfunding campaign in the spring of 2017. In total, more than 80,000 devices have now been ordered from more than 100 countries. Recently the company has launched the Travis Foundation, that is on a mission to preserve cultures and empower people in the modern world by digitising lesser resourced languages.
www.travistranslator.com
Click here for the Indiegogo campaign.
