Small Meetings, Big Impact: Mobile GT Booth Replaces Tour Guide Systems to Be the New Black for Guided Tours and On-Site Simultaneous Interpretation

As conferences and meetings return to in-person formats, the demand for simultaneous interpretation services is also increasing. While traditional tour guide systems have been widely used in the past, they have several drawbacks, including poor audio quality and the high risk of radio frequency interferences.

Green Terp’s Mobile Virtual Booth, a new technology of simultaneous interpretation that is set to fully replace the tour guide system, offers several advantages over traditional systems. In this case study, I will explore how a small meeting (30 pax) successfully used Mobile GT Booth for on-site simultaneous interpretation services.

The client was hosting a 2-hour meeting with participants from a foreign country and simultaneous interpretation service in two languages was requested.

·      The meeting room was not spacious enough for a traditional interpretation booth and the client doesn’t have the budget for setting up a booth.

·      Half of the meeting was discussions among the participants, some of whom joined online.

·      Half of the participants were bilingual and did not need interpretation.

Traditionally this type of meeting can only be done using consecutive interpretation, which is highly inefficient, consuming at least half of the meeting time. While using a tour guide system can provide one-sided interpretation, it fails to facilitate conversations effectively, and the compromised audio quality, as mentioned earlier, further undermines its effectiveness.

This is in fact a typical scenario for a small-scale multi-lingual meeting post Covid. I proposed this new solution of mobile virtual booth given the size and structure of the event, and the client decided to give it a try.

Practically No Set-up Required

All that it’s required is that interpreters deliver their interpretation through their own smartphones. Mobile GT  Booth is a browser-based solution, so the interpreters just needed to log in on their phones and they were ready to go. The meeting was set up online in the admin system, which could be done within just one minute before the meeting started.

Interpreters sat at the same table with the participants and the presenters. (see picture below)

Audience Listens to Interpretation Directly on Their Phones

The participants were given a QR code, directing them to an online receiver, where they could select their preferred language and listen to the interpretation in real-time with their smartphones.

Without a hitch, a meeting that would typically demand consecutive interpretations was conducted with simultaneous interpretations, and even included almost an hour of Q&As. It was as simple as that.

The Mobile GT Booth proved to be a reliable technologyfor high quality simultaneous interpretation services, as compared to thetraditional tour guide systems.

·      It offers full relay functionality and can be used with multiple languages in a single meeting.

·      Its audio quality surpasses that of bidule/Tour guide systems, which are prone to radio frequency interference, and is more secure than IR or RF systems that can be jammed.

·      Surprisingly, the iPhone microphone is of high quality and effectively isolates noise, providing a reasonable quality of voice. If you're using GT Booth on a laptop, consider using #Krisp.ai as a helpful assistant for filtering out background noise and voice improving the clarity of the interpreters’ voice.

Result

The client was extremely satisfied with the results of Mobile GT Booth. It was able to provide simultaneous interpretation services in a small meeting without the need for traditional hardware, booths, or tour guide systems. The participants were impressed with the quality of the interpretation from our team and appreciated the ease of access.

As the return to in-person meetings and conferences gathers pace, businesses and organizations are looking for ways to make them as safe and efficient as possible. Traditional interpreting systems, such as booth-based equipment, can be expensive and difficult to set up for small meetings with a limited number of attendees. This is where solutions like Mobile GT Booth can be useful.

Mobile GT Booth is a portable interpreting system that requires practically no set-up, making it a cost-effective and practical option for small events, which combine in-person and virtual elements.

If you are eager to try it out or want to incorporate it into your upcoming events, please do not hesitate to contact me...

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