Radio-based real-time language translation capability bows at SOF Week 2023
NewsMay 10, 2023
Flavia Camargos Pereira
Military Embedded Systems
SOF Week 2023 – TAMPA, Fla. A group of companies -- Cubic Edge Compute and Networking (CMPS), Instant Connect Software, and Rally Tactical Systems -- introduced a next-generation language-translation capability for military use during the SOF Week exhibition.
This next-generation radio/IP interoperability feature is an any language-to-any language translation solution enabling instant conversations, intended to improve tactical radio interoperability and support and enhance seamless coalition force communications for the U.S. military and its allies worldwide. The capability can be used at all levels, from the command post through dismounted soldiers and first responders.
The solution combines Instant Connect’s interoperable push-to-talk (PTT) platform, Rally Tactical Systems’ Engage engine, and Cubic’s RoIP [radio over IP] radio gateways, which includes solutions from the Vocality, M3X, and M3-SE brands family. The solution is designed to enable secure talks by using a different frequency that cannot be heard by other radios in the same community; going forward, it is also expected to provide flexibility and enable simultaneous conversations between several people.
Anthony Verna, senior vice president of CMPS DTECH Mission Solutions business, says that the capability enables real-time translation in talks between partners: "It doesn't matter the radio band, we are able to cross-band it, put everybody on the same net, push it out on IP, and then have a conversation in whatever target language we need to.
"We plug the different communication sources into this device, and it bridges those. I'm on my phone, he's on a radio, he's on another radio, and we can all share and talk over a network. So that's the base, that's the foundation," Verna explains.
