The Phraselator is a weatherproof handheld language translation device developed by Applied Data Systems and VoxTec, a former division of the military contractor Marine Acoustics, located in Annapolis, Maryland, USA.
The device does not produce synthesized speech like that utilized by Stephen Hawking; instead, it plays pre-recorded foreign language MP3 files.
It then uses speech recognition technology called DynaSpeak, developed by SRI International, to play the proper sound file.
The 2004 release was created by and utilizes a computer board manufactured by InHand Electronics, Inc.[5] In the future, the device will be able to display pictures so users can ask questions such as "Have you seen this person?"
This device, at least in the form tested, would best be used in large-scale operations where there is no time for language training and there is a need to communicate fixed ideas, quickly, over the greatest distance by employing large amounts of unskilled users.
Large humanitarian or natural disasters in remote areas of third-world countries might be an effective example.The original idea for the device came from Lee Morin, a Navy doctor in Operation Desert Storm.
VoxTec won a DARPA Small Business Innovation Research grant in early 2001 to develop a military-grade handheld phrase translator.
In late 2004, the U.S. Navy began to augment some ships with a version of the device attached to large speakers in order to broadcast clear voice instructions up to 400 yards (370 m) away.
In March 2004, DARPA director Dr. Tony Tether presented the Small Business Innovative Research Award to the VoxTec division of Marine Acoustics at DARPATech 2004 in Anaheim, CA.