DOT TRANSLATE. THE FIRST BRAILLE TRANSLATOR BASED ON AI.
| Title | DOT TRANSLATE. THE FIRST BRAILLE TRANSLATOR BASED ON AI. |
| Brand | DOT INCORPORATION |
| Product/Service | DOT TRANSLATE |
| Category |
A01. Innovative Technology |
|
Entrant
|
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY Munich, GERMANY
|
|
Idea Creation
|
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY Munich, GERMANY
|
|
Production
|
PAULUS.CO Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
|
|
Additional Company
|
CLOUDANDCO Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
|
|
Additional Company 2
|
HYPERINTERACTIVE Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Additional Company 3
|
MOBY DIGG Munich, GERMANY
|
Credits
| Alexander Schill |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Global Chief Creative Officer |
| Eric Ju Yoon Kim |
Dot Incorporation |
CEO |
| Jae Seong Joo |
Dot Incorporation |
CDO |
| Ki Sung |
Dot Incorporation |
CTO |
| Ahrum Choi |
Dot Incorporation |
Director of Social Impact |
| Jimin Ryu |
Dot Incorporation |
Global Partnership Manager |
| Yeong Kyu Yoo |
cloudandco / Dot Incorporation |
Creative Director / CEO |
| Ki Hwan Joo |
Dot Incorporation |
Designer |
| Franz Roeppischer |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Creative Director |
| Lorenz Langgartner |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Creative Director |
| Saurabh Kakade |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Creative Producer |
| Eduardo Alvarez |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Art Director |
| Carolina Soto |
SERVICEPLAN GERMANY |
Junior Copywriter |
| Dieter Pries |
HYPERINTERACTIVE |
Technical Director |
| Bozhidar Yovchev |
HYPERINTERACTIVE |
AI Director |
| Anton Petrov |
HYPERINTERACTIVE |
AI Engineer |
| Vasil Vasilev |
HYPERINTERACTIVE |
Data Analyst |
| Daniel Kuhnlein |
Standardabweichung |
Creative Code |
| Maximilian Heitsch |
Moby Digg |
Creative Direction |
| Niklas May |
Moby Digg |
Concept |
| Marco Kawan |
Moby Digg |
UI Design |
| Sebastian Haiss |
Moby Digg |
Animation |
| Kyungsin Kim |
Paulus Co. Ltd |
Producer |
| Dahoon Chung |
Paulus Co. Ltd |
Director |
| Yongsang Cho |
Paulus Co. Ltd |
DOP |
| Handong Ryu |
Paulus Co. Ltd |
Cinematographer |
| Young Woo Choi |
cloudandco |
Designer |
| Nara Ok |
cloudandco |
Graphic Designer |
| Julie Kang |
Serviceplan Korea |
CEO |
| Jihyun Seo |
Serviceplan Korea |
Art Director |
| Yujin Ko |
Serviceplan Korea |
Senior Account Manager |
| Yerim Kim |
Serviceplan Korea |
Account Executive |
| Yoon Seo |
Serviceplan Korea |
Copywriter |
Why is this work relevant for Innovation?
285 million blind and visually impaired people worldwide have limited access to information: Only 3% of all text content is available in braille. Because translation is so complex that it requires input by human experts, which makes it not accessible for individuals and not profitable for publishers. Dot Translate is the first braille translator based on AI. It can translate any digital text to braille most accurately on its own. Because it’s being trained with millions of most accurate human translations.
Background
While we are all used to having access to almost any content, the situation is very different for the 285 million blind and visually impaired people worldwide: Only 3% of all text content is available in braille, because translation is so complex that it requires input by human experts, which makes it not accessible for individuals and not profitable for publishers in most cases. There is no alternative to braille, especially when it comes to education: 90% of people who can’t read braille are unemployed.
Braille translation is highly complex: Grade 2 Braille – the standard for longer text – relies heavily on contractions, which makes it 50% shorter. This inevitably leads to ambiguity, where exact meaning depends on context and up to five consecutive rules to be followed for a single word. So far, even the best existing software requires additional input by human experts.
Describe the idea
Dot Translate is the first braille translator based on AI. It can translate any digital text to braille on its own, at near-human accuracy. Because it’s being trained with millions of most accurate human translation samples / data to understand context.
Dot Translate is accessible through an intuitive web interface, Dot devices and other digital braille devices. It can translate a wide range of formats and sources: type, e-pub, pdf, txt, doc, rtf, html and even voice. Through the bookmark feature, users can directly translate and format whole websites. Dot Translate can be integrated by third party services and products. But most importantly: While existing braille translation software costs up to $700, Dot Translate is free to use. This is important, because due to the nature of Machine Learning and a feedback tool, usage increases the accuracy.
What were the key dates in the development process?
2013
Start Development Dot Core Technology
2014
Company Incorporation
First Patent Granted
2016
Dot Mini Prototype
2017
Dot Translation Engine Development
Dot Mini Beta
2018
First 1000 Dot Mini units delivered to Kenya and India together with South Korean development agency KOICA
Latest Patent Granted
Dot Translate Beta
2019
Dot Mini Global Launch
Dot Translate Global Launch
Describe the innovation / technology
Dot Mini combines innovative hardware with innovative software – the Dot Translation Engine:
The 16 Cell Active Braille Display is built with the innovative (70 patents) Dot actuator technology, uniquely based on magnetism, which reduces size, weight, power consumption and price by up to ten times.
Full audio support with speaker, headphones and microphone allows multisensory experiences. Intuitive control elements including directional pad, select, menu and scroll buttons, as well as voice recognition, make interactive applications like text editing, bookmarks and notes, as well as calculation, coding and even games possible.
The Dot Translation Engine enhances rule-based translation with AI: Grade 2 Braille translation comes down to understanding the context of the word and finding the shortest accurate contraction.
For accuracy, Dot Translation Engine relies on a character-based word model based on a sequence to sequence neural network, trained with millions of character sequences from most accurate human translations. Then a beam search algorithm looks at the most promising candidates from the first step and determines the shortest accurate translation. Together, these two methods result in the shortest, most accurate translation in the specific context.
Describe the expectations / outcome
Dot Translate reaches near-human accuracy, surpassing existing translators and continuously getting better. It can translate whole documents in a few seconds. Dot Translate has so far translated over 10 million words and is supported by organizations serving millions of blind and visually impaired people worldwide.