ELSIE: The Quick Reaction Spoken Language Translation (QRSLT)

Abstract : The objective of this effort was to develop a prototype, hand-held or body-mounted spoken language translator to assist military and law enforcement personnel in interacting with non-English-speaking people. Spoken language translation technology accepts speech input in one human language and generates its computer-spoken translation in another human language. The QRSLT system, nicknamed "ELSIE", demonstrates two-way translation within military and law enforcement vocabularies between English and Spanish, and to a lesser extent between English and Mandarin Chinese and between English and Korean. The system is an innovative advance over currently available "speaking translators" which produce speech based on typed inputs, cannot accept spoken input, and are not customized for military for law enforcement operations. Participation in Global Patriot 98 involved the development and demonstration of capabilities for medical interactions with Korean speakers. Computer-based spoken language translation will have a major impact on soldiers in such areas as: aiding medical personnel in assisting non-English-speaking victims, as a screening aid for interrogating enemy personnel to assist in mine detection, for military foreign language training and proficiency maintenance for interoperability in multi-national operations, and for humanitarian operations.