Unmet Needs and Opportunities for Mobile Translation AI
This work addresses unmet translation needs for migrant and immigrant populations, though it is incremental as it identifies gaps without proposing new technical solutions.
The study investigated cross-language communication needs across diverse populations, finding that migrant communities with low language proficiency have the greatest unmet translation needs for daily life, while current mobile translation apps fail to adequately serve them.
Translation apps and devices are often presented in the context of providing assistance while traveling abroad. However, the spectrum of needs for cross-language communication is much wider. To investigate these needs, we conducted three studies with populations spanning socioeconomic status and geographic regions: (1) United States-based travelers, (2) migrant workers in India, and (3) immigrant populations in the United States. We compare frequent travelers' perception and actual translation needs with those of the two migrant communities. The latter two, with low language proficiency, have the greatest translation needs to navigate their daily lives. However, current mobile translation apps do not meet these needs. Our findings provide new insights on the usage practices and limitations of mobile translation tools. Finally, we propose design implications to help apps better serve these unmet needs.