Performance Assessments of Two-Way, Free-Form, Speech-to-Speech Translation Systems for Tactical Use

Abstract

A critical challenge for military personnel when operating in foreign countries is effective communication with the local population. To address this issue, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) created the Spoken Language Communication and Translation Systems for Tactical Use (TRANSTAC) program. The program's goal is to develop speech-to-speech translation technologies enabling English-speakers to quickly communicate with the local population without an interpreter. DARPA has funded the National Institutes of Standards and Technology to lead the design and implementation of the TRANSTAC performance evaluations. This paper will present these evaluations which enabled the collection of rich quantitative and qualitative metrics.