To help Japanese companies better deal with the increasing number of foreigners visiting the country, Panasonic has created a megaphone (扩音器) which is able to smartly translate Japanese into English, Chinese and Korean.
Panasonic named the product "Megahonyaku". It is a term for the Japanese words for "megaphone" and "translate", which actually makes g lot of sense because it's a megaphone that can translate Japanese into several other languages in real time. When a user speaks Japanese into the megaphone, it recognizes (辨认) and translates what is being said immediately, and outputs the words in English, Chinese or Korean.
It sounds amazing, and seeing it in action is wonderful, but Megahonyaku is not good enough. It cannot translate everything you say, as it only stores 300 common expressions, like "The train has been put off" or "Watch your step". However, the Japanese company behind Megahonyaku promises to add new expressions regularly, which users can get on the Internet.
The machine was designed to be used in places like transport stations, airports and places of interest where quick and exact announcements are needed most. Around 30 Japanese organizations, including the police and guides, have been trying out Megahonyaku for about one year, but Panasonic says it will come onto the market on December 20th. Instead of selling these speech translators, Panasonic plans on renting (出租) them out for less than $183 a month on a three-year agreement, and offering users future improvements and necessary services.
Panasonic has also said that it may add support for other languages, like Russian, depending on customers' needs. Megahonyaku also includes a touch screen that allows users to choose the language they need their speech translated into.
