Ever traveled somewhere where everyone spoke the same language except for you? Ever wish you could join in conversations or be understood without going through the time, money and effort of learning a language in school or online? The instant language translator necklace “ili” may be the gadget for you…or is it?
Created by Japanese startup Logbar, ili promises to be everything that we’ve ever wanted when journeying abroad. It’s everything we’ve ever seen when watching science fiction shows where everyone appears to be speaking English: an instant language translator that lets you converse with others in their own language. As demonstrated by the video below, titled “Kisses in Tokyo,” all one has to do is speak into the ili device to have their native language translated into the target language. The wearer can also have their listener respond in turn, and have that target language translated into the wearer’s native tongue, all in moments. This sounds fantastic, if not for the poor reputation of the parent company, Logbar.
Logbar is infamous for their previous product, its eponymous ring motion controller. Billed as a “wearable input device,” the Logbar ring was called “the worst product ever made” by the angry Kickstarter backers who helped the company raise nearly $1 million for something that only worked “5-10% of the time,” according to a video by Snazzy Labs. Logbar CEO Takuro Yoshida responded to the poor reviews, including Gizmodo’s campaign to discredit and distrust the false hope many Kickstarter videos give potential backers, which included an image of the word “NOPE” using the Logbar ring.
Yoshida blamed consumers’ poor understanding of how to use the ring, citing how the first adopters of the keyboard had to get used to the location of the keys to become efficient typists. He also cited the growing pains of being a young company and all of the unexpected things that come up. He ended positively, though, with the idea that the company will always strive to improve. “We will never give up,” he said. “Our journey has just started!”
Logbar has tried to make up for their shortcomings by improving the Logbar ring with updates while providing better communication. But there’s no doubt the company is applying its marketing carefully and cautiously with the ili, especially considering that the ili website–iamili.com–makes no mention of the company’s name. The only connection to the Logbar name is a link labeled plainly as “Company” that takes users to the Logbar company website when pressed.
The ili looks a lot like a thin iPod mini, and contains it’s own OS that supports translation between English, Chinese and Japanese. According to the website, it requires no internet connection and includes a library of travel lexicon, so that it can be used anywhere and at anytime. It is planned for a summer 2016 release.
For a look at the ili in action, check out the Kisses in Tokyo commercial below, which involves a young, handsome British man trying to get a kiss from Japanese women in Tokyo using his ili device. It should be noted that after concerns of sexual harassment, Logbar has stated that everyone involved in the commercial were actors and actresses. But it’s still fun to think about for all the young bachelors and bachelorettes looking for love in foreign lands. Though one could argue that all they need is the language of love.
ili: Kisses in Tokyo
Source: Bold, ili, ili (YouTube), Business Insider, CrowdfundInsider