No longer lost in translation

After a wildly successful IndieGoGo campaign, the entirely self-funded Waverly Labs had to deliver on their promise to almost 20,000 people around the globe. They had the hardware and the technology, but they had a problem: Their campaign video depicted a nearly phone-free conversation, while their v1 hardware required a phone per user.

The Challenge:

Due to these unforeseen hardware constraints, I was tasked with creating a repeatable, seamful two-phone setup experience that allowed two people that don't speak the same language to have a relatively seamless conversation.

What success looks like:

To Wearers:

The ability to enter and exit a conversation with another person as easily as possible without having to stare at a screen (for too long).

To Waverly:

Delivering as close to the promised experience as possible while creating enough added value to sell additional units. Showcasing the value of the hardware beyond existing phone-based solutions like Google Translate.

The solution

We began by tackling the solution by use-case. There were cases in which people would want to have the full, "phone-free" conversation pictured in the video but, given the setup complexity, we wanted to support cases where the Pilot owner would want to translate one-way using their own phone and device.

We created an app that leverages multi-modal connection (both QR code and passkey) to allow flexible methods of connection depending on the two participants capability to communicate. Given the complexity of the flow, creating and testing an instructional process was almost as important as the flow itself. We utilized lookback.io and in-person tests with real customers to optimize the process as best we could.

While we used localized instructional language, I did my best to communicate through illustration to minimize the need for translation.

For listen mode, we made the flow as simple as possible. A single button leads you to the page and translation can be started with or without an earpiece.

Lessons Learned

One of the major lessons here is in managing product expectations. Most people have their expectations of bleeding-edge products set by what they see in science fiction and fantasy (Christopher Noessel has some great thoughts on this topic). A real-time translator works perfectly in movies like The Hitchhiker's Guide but, when put into practice, problems start to arise. Things as simple as hygiene can play a major role in how people perceive the usefulness of your product, even if you've nailed the functionality and hardware design.

I thrive in tight constraints like this, but there are times where there is only so much to be done. We delivered on our promise, but the Pilot was eventually discontinued in favor of the over-ear Ambassador, which is still sold to this day.