On July 2, 2024, JAL started to trial live-translation screens at its Tokyo Haneda Airport Terminal 1’s Special Assistance Counter. The trial will last for a week (until July 8, 2024) and will be followed by another trial at Osaka Itami from August 20 to 26, 2024.
JAL partnered with TOPPAN to use its VoiceBiz UCDisplays developed in October 2023. In addition to helping non-Japanese speaking passengers of the airport communicate with the airport’s staff, the system also allows those who understand Japanese but are hard of hearing or have a difficulty speaking to communicate thanks to both the text output on the screen, as well as the ability to input text using a keyboard.
In the former case, the system supports 12 languages in addition to Japanese including English, Burmese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, Indonesian, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.
Through the trial, JAL aims to evaluate the effectiveness and usability of the screens. It is not clear to what extent the airline intends to roll the product out in case the trial is successful.
To date, VoiceBiz UCDisplays have been deployed at approximately 50 facilities around Japan ranging from train stations and tourist offices to hotels and theme parks. This is the first time for the product to be used by an airline.
