Skype, AI translates calls with the timbre of the speaker's voice

Skype launches TruVoice, a feature that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to translate voice calls between users into other languages.

The novelty is that, unlike some of today's software, speech synthesis is not robotic but uses a timbre close to that of the speaker, to make communication more natural, even when people of different nationalities are speaking to each other.

Microsoft calls TruVoice "a huge step forward for Skype, as it allows people who speak different languages ​​to communicate easily."

Currently the only supported languages ​​are English, Spanish, French, German and Chinese.

More will be added in the future.

Skype was already able to automatically detect different languages ​​and start translating text and audio but using a robotic system, which made it possible to achieve the purpose of understanding with little emphasis on audio.

TruVoice takes a further step towards breaking down language barriers between users.

The feature, once available, will also be visible through the Skype mobile apps, following the "more" and then "translate" sign in the bottom pane of the ongoing call window.

Microsoft explained how artificial intelligence sampling works, which "mimics" the user's speech without recording and preserving the audio of the words.

"Skype uses Artificial Intelligence to automatically detect the languages ​​spoken during a video call and translate them in real time. This is done using a combination of speech recognition technology and natural language processing, which are able to understand and interpret the spoken words and translate them into the language of your choice. Also, if you turn on natural speech, we'll use artificial intelligence to sample words and optimize the translation to sound the same, making the conversation more human."