The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo both pose a unique challenge to athletes and visitors that hope to communicate effectively. Korean software company Hancom’s “Genie Talk” app and Panasonic’s “Voice-Based Multi-Language Translation System” have emerged as two viable translation options to help bridge the conversational divide.
Hancom markets Genie Talk as a translation app that can act as a traveling companion or language learning assistant. Hancom developed the software for Genie Talk in collaboration with Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI), a South Korea-based tech powerhouse.
According to ETRI’s website, Genie Talk currently offers translation services for five different languages, including Korean, English and Japanese.