Seamless translation into any language via a "lightweight wearable" could soon be a reality, suggested Google's mobile czar Sundar Pichai during today's session at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
This would have enormous benefits for the travel industry, as it would breakdown one of the most insurmountable barriers for international travel: the inability to communicate with someone who speaks a different language.
Pichai continued to basically confirm rumored reports of several other Google initiatives, each of which have implications in a travel industry shifting to the mobile-first reality.
What does $452 million get you, exactly?
This "seamless translation" future could soon be a reality thanks to Google's recent $452 million investment in secretive virtual reality technology company Magic Leap. The company promises that "technology can be awesome; vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly awesome," although it has yet to reveal what exactly it's developing that's worth such a major investment by a player such as Google.
For the first time, Pichai hinted at what this technology could be, saying on stage in an interview with BloombergBusinessWeek's Brad Gold:
I work closely with [Magic Leap]. If you see the experience of what they’re delivering where you can be looking at the real world and you bring computing to work in thatcontext I think is very powerful. Think of the same translate experience we showed you [in a video about Google Translate]… while it’s great the phone does get in the way.
The magic is seeing things in another language but having what it means in context. I think these are really powerful use cases. I’m very positive that we will evolve these things. It’ll take some time.
Google Translate already serves ""over one billion translations a day," Pichai said from the stage. And this number is managed even with the relatively clunky interface that the app currently provides.
The app just doesn't smoothly facilitate human interaction. Here's how the app currently aids travelers in translation — note how the actress has to hold her finger up to tell her speaking partner to wait:
The Magic Leap idea suggests a futuristic wearable that could automatically translate a conversation on the go. Pop in some earbuds, and then as you speak, the watch's speaker spits out a translation to your speaking partner. As that person responds, the translation is heard through the ear buds.
If that were to become a reality, it's possible that Google Translate could then become the core of a traveler's tool kit. This would offer organic placements for Google Now, Google Flights and Google Hotel Finder. It would create a central nervous system for the traveler, which would be a technologically produced monopoly on the travel experience.
As far as Google Now, Pichai was very clear about the desire to see that service even more deeply integrated into the everyday, saying, "We want to push the stuff you need to you before you know you need it."
The traveler journey could include an automated translate button within itineraries that would push to the user's mobile phone after emerging from a long-haul flight at a foreign airport. It would automatically tell your taxi driver where you need to go — or, in the driverless car future, that would just happen without even having to click anything!
Google vs Uber
Google's ongoing driverless car efforts took a very intriguing turn when reports emerged last month that it might actually go head-to-head with Uber as far as offering these driverless cars as taxis. This could put Uber at a huge competitive advantage, as the highest cost is always the share paid to the driver. Uber, in turn, announced its own research facility for driving technology.
https://twitter.com/obrien/status/572381422176116738
Pichai claims that there will be no changes to the mapping relationship with Uber — " Our self driving team has a partnership approach, you'll see more on that front soon" — yet it's hard to imagine that there aren't serious conversations in Uber's C-suite about creating its own sustainable mapping solution for that moment when Google pivots into true head-to-head competition.
Google vs U.S. wireless carriers
This one isn't exactly a direct conflict, as Google will need to partner with an existing mobile network to make it happen — Google plans on launching Nova as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). Initial reports suggest that the smaller two national carriers, Sprint and T-Mobile will jump on board in a likely bid to further challenge the dominant players, AT&T and Verizon.
But why would Google want to become its own wireless carrier?
First off, it's already trying to bring Internet to the 4 billion non-connected people worldwide via massive balloons and as part of its ambitious connectivity initiative Project Loon. "We want to break down the barriers on how connectivity works," Pichai said.
There's also Project Titan, which Pichai confirmed on stage, which deploys solar-powered drones to hover over specific areas of the world to create a mesh layer of Internet connectivity. The company obviously benefits by increasing the number of internet users in the world, and, beyond simple connectivity, the speeds must also be sufficient to allow fast and regular access to content.
The mobile shift also means that there are fewer computers needing home-wired connections, and so Google must ensure that mobile users also have fast and regular access to content. Otherwise, there are fewer opportunities to serve ads.
A mobile network also allows it to develop hardware specifically for its own network, gaining advantages while also expanding the reach of the Android ecosystem.
Finally, an additional carrier increases competition and thus puts downward pressure on pricing — theoretically users could have more data for less. This, of course, means that Google could serve more ads as people use their phones more often.
The Wall Street Journal suggests that the network would also be able to seamlessly switch between Sprint and T-Mobile (as well as available Wi-Fi networks), depending on who was offering the speediest connections. This is a huge plus for consumers reluctant to switch to one of the smaller carriers due to reduced coverage — and also ensures the fastest speeds for advertising-supported content consumption.
Android Pay vs Apple Pay
Given the runaway success that is the Apple iPhone 6, everyone is jumping head-first into the digital/mobile payments game. No one wants to get left behind and Apple has managed to pull ahead with a significant early lead. Pichai confirmed that Android Pay is indeed a thing, and will have "NFC components" to facilitate mobile transactions.
Apparently, it will be different from Google Wallet, as Android Pay is an API that will allow developers to add in digital payment functionality within apps. This will be a boon to travel app developers who want to offer "the other half," a.k.a. those users on Android phones, the same simple payment functionality that Apple Pay delivers. Google Wallet will then be built off of that API just like any other payment integration or service.
https://twitter.com/obrien/status/572378613850513408
Android as the "central operating system"
The overarching message that Pichai left with the Mobile World Congress audience is that Android could be seen as a central operating system (our term, not his) for the connected world. With 8 out of 10 phones already being shipped with Android, the team is working to expand that out into cars and other transportation that will msot benefit from a connected ecosystem.
As Pichai said on stage, there's just nothing that will stop his team from making Android that central operating system of connected hardware:
We're working on Android beyond phones and tablets, watches, televisions, cars. VR is going to be a hugely important area that's using Android as its foundation.