Why Learn A Second Language When You’ve Got An Earpiece And A Smartphone

Finally, a worthwhile and useful wearable that I totally want to use. This is some seriously Star Trek level shit right here, and these guys would have to be the biggest fuckups in the universe and beyond to not become gazillionaires based on it. They’re already off to a fine start in that department (not the fuckup one), having raised $1,830,474 of their $75,000 goal with 25 days to go.

Being lost in translation has happened to everyone while traveling, even us, and that’s exactly how the idea was born. Waverly Labs is at the convergence of wearable technology + machine translation, developing the world’s first smart earpiece language translator.
Using the latest technologies in speech recognition, machine translation and the advances of wearable technology, our smart earpiece allows wearers to speak different languages but still clearly understand each other. Simply put, when one person speaks, the other hears it in their language. Science fiction has called it many things, but we call it Pilot.

Will it translate everything around me?
NO. This first generation does not translate everything happening around you. It only translates with people who also have the Pilot earpiece. Future generations will be developed to translate everything around you.

What if the other person doesn’t have an earpiece?
The full system comes with 2 earpieces for sharing during conversation with someone else. If someone does not have an earpiece, they can use the smartphone app which is included. Also, the app can be used as a loudspeaker during conference mode.

How fast is it?
Currently the translation only takes a couple of seconds of delay, but we are working very hard to get this lag shorter and we will release updates to the app with every improvement.

Is the translation perfect?
No, machine translation is not perfect and it will make mistakes sometimes, but the more people use it the better the translation engine becomes.

Can it be used offline?
We are developing an offline version so that you can use it while traveling overseas without a data connection. However this may be a later stage version of the app. The first version of the app will require online connectivity. We anticipate the offline use to be available by fall/winter 2017.

When will the app be delivered?
An early version of the translation app is expected this summer (August 2016) for basic translation. It will be the first iteration and allow for testing with our current backers throughout the year as we perfect the experience. This is included in your pre-order. The full app system with the Pilot earpieces will be delivered in May 2017.
What languages will be supported?
We are first introducing latin/romance languages this summer (English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese). Expected additional languages ase as follows: (*subject to change)
Germanic: German, Danish, Swedish
Russian and Slovak: Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Polish
Hebrew/Arabic
East Asian: Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese
Hindi and Urdu
African: Afrikaans 
Are these the ONLY languages which Waverly Labs will release?
NO. We expect to investigate a wide array of languages, including those which are not listed. We’ll listen to the feedback of our community to prioritize other languages throughout our development.
Are additional languages free?
Only for backers on Indiegogo. For everyone else, additional language packs will be available for a premium fee,

Will it translate for my dialect?
Every language has various dialects and the earpiece is designed to translate common dialects, although thick accents could disrupt this and cause improper translations.
Will the app work with other smart earpieces?
No. The app and Pilot are designed to work together using specific communication protocols.
When will the earpieces be delivered?
The earpieces require much more testing, manufacturing and production time. Therefore, we anticipate the earliest will be Christmas, although this is an aggressive timeline. Backers should be prepared to have orders fulfilled next spring 2017.

Where will you ship?
We will ship internationally, and shipping costs are automatically calculated when you preorder.

Do you have a working prototype?
Yes! We’ve prototyped the software to allow for two people to carry a conversation using the app. The next stages of the software development will focus on building a scalable infrastructure of the system to support a large number of users. The Pilot earpieces have gone through several stages of the hardware prototyping, including component selection, pcb design and industrial design. The full system of hardware and software development begins this summer as we move into the engineering validation testing phase.

Are the earpieces waterproof?
No.