6 ms·

Google Translate for Animals

90 points by matkem 16y ago

djehuty 16y ago
Already April 1st in the UK.
- leif 16y ago
  Today is the best day of the year.
gr366 16y ago
Could somebody with an Android phone please determine whether they went all the way through with building an Android app? It appears you can only search the marketplace from a handset.
- dpig 16y ago
  They really did build an app: Cat to English - "Why can't they call it a door, I mean cat flap is so degrading"
  - araneae 16y ago
    Hey, that's what my cat said too! And we don't even have a cat flap, she's indoor only. Something seems fishy...
    - matkem 16y ago
      or... catty?
  - Estragon 16y ago
    "Can we please move somewhere sunnier? There aren't enough hours in the day for me to work on my tan."
  - anigbrowl 16y ago
    Mine wants to be fed, which is quite impressive as I don't have a cat. but now I am going to get one, so I can feed it.
  - felixc 16y ago
    "Who are you? Do you have food?" -- Sounds like a pretty accurate translation to me.
- alayne 16y ago
  Yes, they did. http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-google-android-apps-animaltranslator-AzDm.aspx http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-google-andro... You can choose the Target animal (e.g. Guinea pig), press the listen button which "listens" for four seconds and outputs translations like "I could really do with an extension. This place could use some wooden decking." and "What is that thing anyway? Can I eat it?"
sfalbo 16y ago
It looks like Google is already keeping up with their April Fool's Day tradition...
ld50 16y ago
What's even funnier about it is that animals do indeed use sound to communicate and that this application is both theoretically and technically feasible. Animals do not emit sounds for the sake of emitting sounds, they do so with specific intentions, desires, and goals, and as a result of specific systems that have developed towards the end of a complex system of communication involving vocal and auditory mechanisms, sound waves, and cognitive elements giving the capacity to process and generate these patterns of sound. It's funny to me because I know that some people would look at this application and think of it as a hilarious joke: "Understand animal sounds? Ha Ha Ha good one Google! As if! Chinese Room! Hurf Durf! IMPOSSIBLE!" It's also funny to me because I know that some hackers will look at this and be inspired to spend their spare cycles researching and developing this application, and wind up making a small fortune when they put it on the app store. It's also funny to me because I suspect that some crafty googlers have already done this and are using the video and google's reputation for funny April Fools Day Jokes as a viral marketing tactic for their April Fool's Day Day-After joke, where they release the fully functional application, having developed it during their allocated "pet project" time. Good one Google!
- derefr 16y ago
  As the saying goes, "Simpsons did it" (and quite a long while ago, too): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother,_Can_You_Spare_Two_Dimes%3F http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother,_Can_You_Spare_Two_Dime...
- cake 16y ago
  Animal communication is definitely very complex. They all have their own language and it's often not just oral. I've read an interesting theory that cats meow a lot at us humans because they see that we don't perceive their body language well enough. Out of frustration and because they see and hear that we speak a lot they adapt. We're not to the point where we are able to translate live human communication smoothly. Even contextual text translation is terrible (Google translate). I guess we're a long way from being able to translate animal communication effectively but I think it's a very intersting subject.
gojomo 16y ago
Dr. Goolittle?
Scott_MacGregor 16y ago
This made my day. LOL, how cute.
daleharvey 16y ago
today is going to be an easy day to ignore the distraction of the internet
msg 16y ago
There is a demo video! Hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I24bSteJpw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I24bSteJpw
- psawaya 16y ago
  I highly recommend watching it in TEXTp.
100k 16y ago
I loved Dr. Doolittle when I was a kid so this brought a smile to my face.
KC8ZKF 16y ago
Don't believe a word the sheep say. They're all liars.
Roridge 16y ago
Google n. a company that never lets you down today ^_^

90 points by matkem 16y ago

djehuty 16y ago

Already April 1st in the UK.

leif 16y ago
Today is the best day of the year.

gr366 16y ago

Could somebody with an Android phone please determine whether they went all the way through with building an Android app? It appears you can only search the marketplace from a handset.

dpig 16y ago
They really did build an app: Cat to English - "Why can't they call it a door, I mean cat flap is so degrading"
- araneae 16y ago
  Hey, that's what my cat said too! And we don't even have a cat flap, she's indoor only. Something seems fishy...
  - matkem 16y ago
    or... catty?
- Estragon 16y ago
  "Can we please move somewhere sunnier? There aren't enough hours in the day for me to work on my tan."
- anigbrowl 16y ago
  Mine wants to be fed, which is quite impressive as I don't have a cat. but now I am going to get one, so I can feed it.
- felixc 16y ago
  "Who are you? Do you have food?" -- Sounds like a pretty accurate translation to me.
alayne 16y ago
Yes, they did. http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-google-android-apps-animaltranslator-AzDm.aspx http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-google-andro... You can choose the Target animal (e.g. Guinea pig), press the listen button which "listens" for four seconds and outputs translations like "I could really do with an extension. This place could use some wooden decking." and "What is that thing anyway? Can I eat it?"

sfalbo 16y ago

It looks like Google is already keeping up with their April Fool's Day tradition...

ld50 16y ago

What's even funnier about it is that animals do indeed use sound to communicate and that this application is both theoretically and technically feasible. Animals do not emit sounds for the sake of emitting sounds, they do so with specific intentions, desires, and goals, and as a result of specific systems that have developed towards the end of a complex system of communication involving vocal and auditory mechanisms, sound waves, and cognitive elements giving the capacity to process and generate these patterns of sound. It's funny to me because I know that some people would look at this application and think of it as a hilarious joke: "Understand animal sounds? Ha Ha Ha good one Google! As if! Chinese Room! Hurf Durf! IMPOSSIBLE!" It's also funny to me because I know that some hackers will look at this and be inspired to spend their spare cycles researching and developing this application, and wind up making a small fortune when they put it on the app store. It's also funny to me because I suspect that some crafty googlers have already done this and are using the video and google's reputation for funny April Fools Day Jokes as a viral marketing tactic for their April Fool's Day Day-After joke, where they release the fully functional application, having developed it during their allocated "pet project" time. Good one Google!

derefr 16y ago
As the saying goes, "Simpsons did it" (and quite a long while ago, too): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother,_Can_You_Spare_Two_Dimes%3F http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother,_Can_You_Spare_Two_Dime...
cake 16y ago
Animal communication is definitely very complex. They all have their own language and it's often not just oral. I've read an interesting theory that cats meow a lot at us humans because they see that we don't perceive their body language well enough. Out of frustration and because they see and hear that we speak a lot they adapt. We're not to the point where we are able to translate live human communication smoothly. Even contextual text translation is terrible (Google translate). I guess we're a long way from being able to translate animal communication effectively but I think it's a very intersting subject.

gojomo 16y ago

Dr. Goolittle?

Scott_MacGregor 16y ago

This made my day. LOL, how cute.

daleharvey 16y ago

today is going to be an easy day to ignore the distraction of the internet

msg 16y ago

There is a demo video! Hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I24bSteJpw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I24bSteJpw

psawaya 16y ago
I highly recommend watching it in TEXTp.

100k 16y ago

I loved Dr. Doolittle when I was a kid so this brought a smile to my face.

KC8ZKF 16y ago

Don't believe a word the sheep say. They're all liars.

Roridge 16y ago

Google n. a company that never lets you down today ^_^