VoxTec won the award in recognition of its development of the Windows CE powered Phraselator, a rugged handheld language translation device used by the US military. According to VoxTec, the Phraselator was prominently mentioned in several opening remarks by DARPA officials and throughout the course of the DARPATech Symposium.
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Click here for a larger view of the Phraselator P2)
What's a Phraselator?The Phraselator is a handheld computer that translates more than 1,000 spoken English phrases into other languages. The unique characteristic of this device is the 1024 x 768 display which provides the user with a great viewing experience for browsing the web or using any other application. Phrases are translated in advance by a native translator, recorded, and saved in a phrase database. When an English phrase is spoken into the system, the translation is played back. US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq have used the Phraselator as a tool for humanitarian assistance, medical, security, travel, and law enforcement.
The Phraselator concept was initially developed under a DARPA SBIR grant. The pressing need for linguistic services to assist the US military in Afghanistan following September 11, 2001 accelerated the product's development and production, according to VoxTec.
Following two years of producing the original
Phraselator Model 1100, VoxTec is now offering a second generation Phraselator, the Model P2, shown in the above photo.
Summary of Phraselator P2 features and specs:
- Microsoft Windows CE .NET 4.2 operating system
- 400MHz Intel XScale PXA255 processor
- 64MB Flash memory
- SD/MMC expansion slot
- Advanced Automatic Speech Recognizer (ASR)
- Full frequency one-watt speaker
- New Verbal Commands
- Daylight and night readable TFT color touch screen
- Weather resistant, durable, ergonomic design
- Battery charging and power management circuitry
- Longer-lasting battery
- Built in stand
- Audio in and out jacks
- Standard mini USB connector
- Strong voice and audio, easy to understand
