Image credit: Microsoft
What you need to know
- Microsoft showed off a combination of holoportation and translation at Microsoft Inspire.
- The demo used several Azure services to translate English to Japanese sound as if it was from the original speaker.
- Windows Mixed Reality was used to capture and render a hologram of the speaker.
Microsoft showed off an impressive combination of technologies at Microsoft Inspire (via ZDNet). During a demo, Azure Corporate Vice President Julia White used a HoloLens 2 to present a keynote in Japanese using her own voice. The hologram was captured and rendered using Windows Mixed Reality and scaled up to appear lifesize. White's demonstration also used a combination of Azure services to translate her keynote speech into Japanese while maintaining her own voice's tone and inflections.
Azure speech-to-text, Azure Speech Translation, and neural text-to-speech worked in conjunction to deliver an English to Japanese translation delivered in an artificial voice created to sound as if White was speaking Japanese herself. This text-to-speech service is available in more 45 languages for standard voices and can also be used to create neural voices. The custom neural voices synthesize different units of speech to create a computer voice.
Holoportation has been shown off by Microsoft before. It takes a full 3-D model of a person and places them into a mixed reality environment. It can be used to make it seem as if a person was in a room from miles away.
You can watch the demonstration on Microsoft's Inspire website. The holoportation and translation demonstration begins around the 32-minute mark. White concluded her demonstration by stating that "all of these technologies exist today" to emphasize that the feats were accomplished with current technology.
Portable (and affordable) power accessories we love
Each and every one of these charging gadgets will keep your favorite gear and gadgets going for longer, and none of them costs more than $30.
VisionTek 8,000 mAh micro-USB power bank ($13 at Dell)
This compact dual-output powerbank can speedily recharge any and all your devices, thanks to a two-amp "fast charge feature," using its micro-USB out port. Its simple design includes an LED indicator, and it costs about as much as a single ticket to the movies.
Panasonic eneloop AA batteries (From $13 at Dell)
Panasonic's rechargeable batteries are among the best available, and just a couple of them will keep your favorite remote, mice or other peripherals powered up when you need them. They're also eco. And the company's affordable charger fits and charges both AA and AAA batteries at the same time.
Belkin Qi Wireless Charging Pad ($30 at Dell)
This unobtrusive Qi wireless charging pad looks good (and kind of like a UFO …) and easily charges all your Qi-compatible device up to 5W. Its LED indicator lights up when you're charging. And it costs just $30.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
Everything you need to know about AMD Radeon RX 6000 GPUs
AMD has unveiled its new lineup of Radeon RX 6000-series graphics cards, with three new pieces of hardware to look forward to. Here's what you need to know.
Here's everything you need to know about the Activision Blizzard lawsuit
The lawsuit against Activision Blizzard alleging harassment, unfair pay, and a "frat boy" culture has rocked the video game industry. Here's everything you need to know about it, from the suit itself to the aftermath.
The commands you need to know for using WSL in PowerShell
WSL is an incredible tool built into Windows 10 and while you're probably using it to run some hefty Linux loads, there are some incredibly useful commands you should know about to interact with it from PowerShell.
Prepare for your next trip with the best travel routers
If you're going on a trip, you need a portable travel router that not only provides a fast connection, but offers a few more uses as well. Here's the travel routers that will make dealing with Wi-Fi on your tip a breeze.