For almost a decade, Timekettle has been synonymous with {hardware} innovation in translation units, producing instruments that assist individuals join throughout language obstacles. Now, with the launch of Babel OS, the corporate is making a press release that the way forward for cross-language communication lies within the seamless fusion of superior software program and {hardware}.
Babel OS has the potential to be an entire game-changer in communication. From real-time, emotionally resonant translations to customizable lexicons tailor-made for particular eventualities, Babel OS redefines what’s attainable in translation expertise. However what does this imply for Timekettle, its customers, and the broader business?
We wished to know extra, so we sat down for a chat with Timekettle’s founder and CEO, Leal Tian, at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. We have been curious in regards to the imaginative and prescient behind Babel OS, the challenges of mixing cutting-edge software program with progressive {hardware}, and the way these advances are reshaping the way in which we join throughout languages.
Q. Timekettle is understood for its groundbreaking {hardware}, however Babel OS actually reveals how vital your software program improvements are, too. What’s it been like balancing developments in each {hardware} and software program, and the way does Babel OS convey all of it collectively?
To us, crucial factor is to convey individuals a brand new expertise, so we’re not focusing solely on {hardware}, software program, or AI alone. What we’re actually involved about is how individuals can actually talk, even when they’re talking completely different languages.
Previously, we’ve at all times been recognized for our earbuds and {hardware}, however at the least 50% of the work is finished by the software program. For instance, for those who’re utilizing our earbuds, the embedded software program, the algorithm for noise cancelation, and the communication protocol all belong to the software program aspect.
This 12 months, we determined to push the software program to the forefront and let individuals know the way we’re working to make sure they’ve a smoother expertise. That’s why we launched Babel OS. For us, it’s not about balancing {hardware} and software program — they’re a part of the identical system, working collectively to offer a singular and immersive expertise.
Q. In a previous interview, you talked about the Babel Fish from The Hitchhiker’s Information to the Galaxy as an inspiration for Timekettle. How did that concept affect the event of Babel OS, and the way shut do you imagine you’re to bringing that science fiction imaginative and prescient nearer to actuality?
Lanh Nguyen / Android Authority
Sure, I’m a sci-fi fan, and The Hitchhiker’s Information to the Galaxy is a traditional that everyone is aware of. When you go to our workplace, you’ll even discover a assembly room named Adams, after the writer. It’s an attention-grabbing idea that seems on this story, in addition to in Star Trek and lots of different sci-fi movies, the place translators are in all places, permitting individuals to speak to one another and even with aliens. The inspiration comes from this type of creativeness — individuals speaking to one another with out language obstacles. It’s a wonderful thought.
Our mission is to make the world have fewer language obstacles. And the ultimate aim is rather like the Babel Fish within the film — you set it in your ear, and also you don’t must do something. You’ll be able to discuss to anybody, identical to you’re speaking to an in depth good friend. And with Babel OS, we present our respect for the novel.
Q. Babel OS introduces options like AI Semantic Segmentation and customized lexicons. How do these developments remodel the expertise of real-time translation in comparison with current options?
Lanh Nguyen / Android Authority
In our opinion, previously, instruments like Google Translate and related software program or {hardware} have been targeted on translation, not communication. For instance, consider the digital camera on the again of your telephone. If you use it, the aim isn’t simply to take an image — it’s to seize emotion and knowledge. That’s a deeper degree of the human intuition. It’s the identical with communication. Folks wish to join, so that they want translation, however translation is only a software and doesn’t convey the intuition.
As people, we’re social animals. Trying again, it turns into clear that all the pieces ought to deal with how we are able to present immersive communication, not simply translation. Software program or {hardware} used previously was extra like consecutive translations, the place individuals took turns or handed issues backwards and forwards to speak. It wasn’t pure. Our aim, on a technological degree, is to attain simultaneous interpretation.
Whereas translation accuracy is vital, so is pace.
With Babel OS, we’ve efficiently built-in applied sciences like speech recognition and speech processing. For instance, on the entrance finish, we course of the voice to make sure the pickup is obvious sufficient to translate. And whereas translation accuracy is vital, so is pace. If I spoke to you and also you solely acquired what I mentioned each 10 seconds, it might really feel awkward. It’s not pure communication.
Babel OS helps our merchandise ship this groundbreaking expertise, making it really feel like you may have an actual interpreter beside you. We’re constantly enhancing facets like accuracy, pace, and naturalness, together with options like AI voice cloning. All of that is geared toward attaining the final word aim: creating an answer just like the Babel Fish, enabling actually pure communication throughout languages.
Q. One of the fascinating facets of Babel OS is its potential to copy human emotion and tonality. What challenges did you face in growing this characteristic, and the way do you see it impacting cross-language communication?
Voice cloning and capturing feelings is a really massive mission for us. It’s not one thing our firm can develop solely by itself, so we use a mixture of our personal expertise 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 indignant, completely happy, or one thing else — you could first detect these feelings. Then, you progress on to speech synthesis, or what we name TTS, which is text-to-speech. At this stage, you’ll be able to add options to information the AI in replicating the feelings detected within the earlier step.
The consequence shouldn’t be solely copying the genuine voice but in addition capturing the feelings. It’s a complete process, and it’s not one thing achieved by us alone.
Q. Babel OS is operating on units just like the W4 Professional Earbuds and the X1 Interpreter Hub. How do you assume this mix of good software program and progressive {hardware} will make a distinction in individuals’s day-to-day lives?
Lanh Nguyen / Android Authority
We hope this product shall be used in all places sooner or later. If you go to a hospital, reside overseas, journey, or attend a enterprise assembly, it must be there. The ultimate 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 talking. That’s why we see this as a elementary gadget for the longer term.
Q. Babel OS seems like a serious leap ahead in AI translation. How do you see this innovation shaping each Timekettle’s future and that of the broader business of cross-language communication?
It’s an enormous step as a result of it integrates all of the expertise we’ve developed, making communication a lot smoother. As I discussed, we’re transferring towards the imaginative and prescient of the Babel Fish sooner or later. Proper now, that is model 1.0, however perhaps subsequent 12 months, you’ll see 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 gadget lineup, together with the brand new W4 Professional Earbuds, the WT2 Edge Earbuds, the X1 Interpreter Hub, and the T1 and T1 Mini Handheld Interpreters. These units, enhanced with Babel OS, provide real-time, human-like translations throughout 40 languages and 90 accents, optimizing the communication expertise.
Timekettle is at the moment 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 big step ahead for Timekettle, however as CEO Leal Tian notes, that is just the start. With ongoing updates and future iterations within the works, the way forward for communication is nearer than ever.
