Infos about the IBM Wireless Translation System

IBM Archives - Exhibits - IBM special products (vol. 1):
IBM Wireless Translation System

IBM founder Thomas J. Watson had a long-standing personal interest in solving problems associated with the use of multiple languages in international meetings, and he put his company's resources to work on developing a solution. The ultimate result was the IBM Wireless Translation System (sometimes referred to as the Simultaneous Interpretation System).

As part of his efforts to bring about global understanding and "World Peace Through World Trade," Thomas Watson made this equipment available without charge to international meetings. Between 1947 and 1953, for example, the IBM Wireless Translation System was used in 258 international meetings in 120 cities -- from Amsterdam to Zurich -- in 34 countries.

Among the organizations supported by IBM's Wireless Translation System were the International Olympic Games Committee, International Red Cross and the United Nations.

Wikipedia:
Interpreting Device

Despite the extensive trial and error, without the interpretation system the trials would not have been possible and in turn, revolutionized the way multilingual issues were addressed in tribunals and conferences.

Today, all major international organizations, as well as any conference or government that uses more than one official language, uses extempore simultaneous interpretation. Notable bodies include the Parliament of Kosovo with three official languages, the Parliament of Canada with two official languages, the Parliament of South Africa with eleven official languages, the European Union with twenty-four official languages, and the United Nations with six official working languages.

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