With every new translation gadget, we seem to be getting closer to a "universal" translator, that will instantly translate speech. Language is too nuanced for that to become a reality in the near future, but scientists are getting closer and developing new equipment that can help people in foreign countries communicate with the people they need to interact with the most, whether they're troops in combat areas or humanitarian aid workers in poverty-stricken lands.

The Voxtech Phraselator, designed and developed by the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA), is perhaps the closest thing to a universal translator technology can offer today. The Phraselator was built to listen in on conversations and quickly translate phrases from any language to another. Currently, the Phraselator is being used to translate English phrases to other languages, making the device very useful for US soldiers in the field and aid workers serving abroad. The Phraselator has a rugged, water and wind-proof shock-resistant case, and has a bright LCD touch-screen.

The Phraselator sports a battery that will provide 20 hours of translation duty, and 1GB of internal flash memory for special settings or to store new words and phrases that someone may pick up while using the Phraselator. The device also has a USB port so it can be programmed with new languages or new phrases as they become available. The Phraselator is only 5-inches by 7-inches and weighs one pound, so it fits in one hand easily and can be worn on a belt or tossed in a backpack. The device is not commercially available, but hopefully people who might need a device like this the most can their hands on it soon.

[ via ProductDose ]