Roblox Introduces Real-Time AI Translation on Metaverse to Overcome Language Barrier

Roblox revealed it has added automatic chat translations into its metaverse to allow users around the world to communicate without a problem, regardless of the language they speak. The new AI-based feature provides real-time translations of chat messages among users.

According to CoinTelegraph, Roblox's artificial intelligence technology, which it calls the "unified translation model," currently supports 16 languages. This allows users to easily chat with anyone using their native or preferred language.

How the LLM Works on Roblox

Starting this week, all users of Roblox can engage in discussions or friendly banter with other users even if they do not speak the same language. The new AI-powered LLM will instantly translate the language as the user types the message on the metaverse.

For instance, a Korean user can type in her or his native "Hangugeo" language, but the English-speaking user will see the message in English. If another person is German, this user will read and respond to the message in German as well.

To put it simply, even if the individuals on the Roblox metaverse speak different languages, the AI translator will do the work and allow them to understand each other. The translation rate of the messages is said to be at a base latency of 100 milliseconds which means the delivery is instant.

Roblox's Vision for the Future

Roblox's chief technology officer, Daniel Sturman, said that their goal for the future is to fully translate every part of a user experience on their metaverse platform. The company's vision is to have it fully translated into the native language of every user. They also hope to eventually offer AI-powered voice translation later.

"Our custom large language model is so fast we are able to do real-time translations from any one of 16 languages to any of the others as people type to help them connect in real-time, no matter where they are from," Sturman said in a press release. "We started using AI to translate in-experience content at scale, so our community developers can engage more users globally."

He added, "Now, thanks to our new real-time AI chat translations, we have made something possible on Roblox that is not even possible in the physical world - enabling people to overcome language barriers and seamlessly communicate with one another in immersive 3D experiences."

Zhen Fang, Roblox's global head, further said, "Our early experiments with this new automated chat translation technology showed a very positive impact on time spent, chat engagement, and session quality, so we are very excited to roll it out to further enhance and expand our community's daily communication. The world feels a little bit smaller when we enable features like these at a global scale."

Photo by: Roblox Press Release