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Remote Interpretation Solutions

A cloud-based platform for video remote simultaneous interpreting at conferences and similar events.

Our video remote interpreting service exploits the potential of modern technology to make interpreting services easier to handle, more affordable and flexible. Allowing interpreters to work from any location, not just in the venue. Allows delegates at events to connect using their smartphones, tablets or laptops and listen to interpreters. The platform can be accessed via mobile app or Firefox/Chrome browser. Connect with a mobile app downloaded for free for both iOS and Android devices. The platform also enables the audience and the speakers to participate remotely in conferences and similar events.

Benefits of Remote Interpretation

Offering clients a fully integrated interpreting service by providing technical support and all other equipment required.

New opportunities now exist to provide interpretation for smaller groups, workshops, seminars and smaller conferences with 10-20 delegates, a segment that, until now, has not used interpreting services due to the high costs involved.

When an event is held overseas, interpreters may work from our booths located in one of our regional offices without needing to travel to the event location.

Provide Interpretation at venues where there is no space for extra booths or at difficult to reach locations.

As no travelling is required, provide interpretation for those events where additional languages are required, for short assignments or at short notice events.

The Congress Remote App

► Delegates listen to the remote interpretation via the app on their smartphone

► Delegates access the app using the unique event code

► Delegates can then select their language

► The app is available on both iOS and Android and is free to download

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Our Video Remote Interpretation Platform

► Interpreters log into the Congress Remote platform on their computer

► Interpreters are given a unique event code to access the event

► HD audio and video of the event will be streamed to the interpreters via the platform

► The interpreters translation will be instantaneously transmitted to the event

► Interpreters can chat to each other via the built-in chat function and to Congress Rental technicians during the event to alert them of any issues

Case Study

Our First Ever Remote Interpretation Event

Remote interpretation for 4 languages
Interpreters located in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia
Interpreters accessed the remote interpretation platform on their computers
Congress Rental installed and operated on-site whilst providing remote support for interpreters.
1000 participants
Integration with traditional interpretation equipment (FM receivers)

Read the Case Study

Interpreters

Interpreters don’t need to be present at the conference venue, they can work from anywhere. You can eliminate the travelling and accommodation costs of interpreters, and the time and resources for the installation of booths. Certified interpreters can be provided by our partners, leading interpreting agencies from all over the world.

You may also use your own interpreters, without having to transfer them to the event location. Interpreters can also work from booths when providing interpreting services for events overseas. Unlimited number of interpreters, some on-site, some remote, can work together in parallel, also at venues where space is not sufficient for many booths. Interpreters hear the speakers over VoIP and watch the conference via webcam.

Presenters

The presenter can speak into a microphone connected to the local audio system.

At small meetings, the speakers may talk into a microphone connected directly to our platform.

The speakers can participate remotely by being streamed to the audience using our platform.

Participants

Participants may use their smartphones, tablets and/or laptops via Wi-Fi or mobile data networks to listen to the human interpreters working in real time.

Participants may also use traditional headsets with standard IR Receivers. Participants can follow the session remotely if they cannot attend the event in person.

New Possibilities

Small and medium sized events such as seminars, workshops and sales meetings.

Large conferences with few delegates needing interpreting.

Events set up at short notice or for fast replacements.

Short assignments lasting 1-2 hours.

When there is not enough space for the interpreting booths at the venue.

In case delegates or speakers cannot attend an event in person but wish to do so remotely.

For events where interpreting to/from rare languages is required.

For events at difficult to reach locations (islands, resorts, mountains).

For guided tours.

Technical Setup and Specifications

Our platform can be adapted to your specific technical requirements. We offer cloud-based solutions as well as tailor-made hybrid solutions in combination with on-site audio equipment, depending on the technical conditions of the venue and requirements of the organisers. Solutions can use any of the following technical configurations:

	Traditional Simultaneous Interpretation	Hybrid Traditional + Cloud (Remote Interpreters)	Hybrid Traditional + Cloud (Bring Your Own Device)	Pure Cloud based Solution (Remote Everything)
Audience Hear With…	Infra-red Receivers	Infra- Red Receivers	smartphones, tablets or laptops	smartphones, tablets or laptops
Speaker Talks into…	Microphone, connected to an on-site audio system	Microphone, connected to an on-site audio system	Microphone, connected to an on-site audio system	a laptop mic or a conference mic connected to a laptop
Interpreters Work…	Inside the on-site Booths	remotely from home/office or remote interpreting booths	Inside the on-site Booths	remotely from home/office or remote interpreting booths

Technical Specifications

Our cloud based solution uses state-of-the-art communication technology that provides high-quality sound even under poor network conditions. A super-wideband connection with up to 12.5kHz frequency range is used, with flexible adjustments based on the available bandwidth. The sound quality we deliver is, therefore, superior to that which can be achieved with traditional remote connections.

Minimum 6 Mbps download/upload for video (2Mbps audio only) + additional 2Mbps down/up for each audio channel/language. If attendees connect through standard broadcasting equipment and radio/IR headsets, the above bandwidth is sufficient, otherwise additional capacity should be set aside for streaming to the audience.
When streaming to attendees through laptops, tablets or smartphones, minimum 0.5Mbps download per user is required.
Ping on any connected devices must be below 50ms maximum of 20 devices per wireless access point (Wi-Fi router)
When connecting the PCs of the interpreter(s) and the speaker(s), an Ethernet cable connection is required.
Use mobile Speedtest app (www.speedtest.net) to test bandwidth and ping, testing several times in different places of the room

Cloud Bases Solution (Remote Everything)

Hybrid 1 (Traditional + Remote Interpreters)

On-Site Audio System, ON site Infra-Red, Cloud solution for Remote Interpreters
Eliminates problems with Wi-Fi streaming to large audiences. If delegates don’t have smartphones or cannot be expected to download apps onto their smartphones, they can use traditional infrared receivers & headphones to hear the interpreter – their user experience is therefore unchanged. Additional languages can be easily offered without having to install booths for the interpreters. The cloud platform is connected to the on-site audio system.The audio signal from the interpreters is streamed to a traditional infra-red transmitter. High-quality video of the speaker can be streamed to the interpreter.

Hybrid 2 (Traditional + Interpreters in Offsite Booths)

On-Site Audio System, ON site Infra-Red, Cloud solution with Interpreters working from Off-site Booths
Easy-to-use solution for complex set-ups – with multiple languages, relay languages – during discussions with multiple on-site and off-site speakers.
Interpreters can work from booths located offsite. The event organiser’s own interpreters, who are familiar with the relevant technology, don’t have to fly in to the event location – they can work from the booths remotely. Easily allows an interpreter to switch between the floor and relay language at the press of a button in the booths. The sound quality is the same as if the booths were located on-site.

Use Case 1 (Board Meetings)

If the members of the executive do not share a common language, our cloud based platform is an excellent solution to facilitate communication. No booths need to be set up and no interpreters are present in the room, which gives the meeting a more intimate and confidential character. The committee members talk into goose-neck microphones. They can listen to the interpreting either with their smart phones if the WiFi in the room is suitable or via infra-red receivers and headphones. The example below shows a meeting or round-table discussion with 6 participants with 6 Languages, and therefore 6 remote interpreters. (this is for illustration purposes, interpreters always work in pairs).

Use Case 2 (Small Meetings)

The following example demonstrates how the interpreting service is provided when a sales manager and his assistant visit a client. The client group is three-strong, but in principle there is no limit to this number. The only thing the meeting organiser needs to do is to bring a laptop (or tablet). Each participant listens to their interpretation using our App. In the picture on the left, the sales manager talks and the client representatives listen with their smartphones. Their speech is Interpreted from Orange (say English) into Blue (say Mandarin). In the picture on the right, the client representative talks and the sales manager and his assistant listen. Their speech is Interpreted (by the same Interpreter) from Blue (Mandarin) into Orange (English). This is done simultaneously and so there is a continuous flow of speech in the meeting.

Use Case 3 (Seminars/Workshops)

Use Case 4 (Panel Discussion)

The cloud based platform can handle many languages. The following example shows a panel discussion with five languages. As often happens in situations with many languages, a relay language is used, usually English (in red).

What does Relay mean?
This is a common term in Interpretation circles, but to the un-initiated it can be confusing.
Interpreters generally has a working pair of languages. For Example:

English <-->French
English <--> Mandarin
English <--> Spanish
English <--> Japanese

So at an event with English, French, Mandarin, Spanish & Japanese delegates. If someone speaks in Japanese there is no Interpreter to go direct to French.
So the Japanese Interpreter converts it to English (the relay language) that can also be listened to directly by all the English delegates.
Japanese => English

The French Interpreter then Converts the English to French:

English => French

We have thereby achieved:

Japanese => English => French using English as the common relay language.

This process is applied to then get from any language to any language. English is the most common relay language.

Use Case 5 (Presenter Onsite or Offsite)

Delegates and speakers don’t need to be on site either. We can stage conferences with some delegates being physically present and others participating remotely. The interpreters can either work from their on-site booths or from an external location.

Example 5a
Remote Presenter to Remote Interpreters providing languages into the room.

Example 5b
Remote Presenter to Interpreters located in the room providing languages in the room.

Privacy and Security

Our Cloud Based Solution applies best practices for network security. We use 128-bit encryption across all communication streams; SRTP encryption is used for media and DTLS-SRTP for key negotiations.

Our software is installed on dedicated servers.
Separate sessions – accessed via individually generated tokens – are created for each event
No voice data is recorded or stored (unless required by the customer)
Confidentiality is assured through the extensive use of NDA’s
Compliance with the Safe Harbor framework regarding the collection, use and retention of personal data

FAQ

Q. Who developed the software and what did the development process involve?
A. Congress Rental has worked closely with a developer to create a solution that is high quality and suitable for the conference and events space.

Q. What led to this software being developed? Was it the difficulty in finding suitable simultaneous interpretation professionals on site, cost, visa issues for the professional, etc?
A. Yes, all of the above. Everywhere we look we see internet-based solutions impacting traditional platforms, offering new ways to deliver services. We want to be at the forefront of this.
Bringing interpretation professionals to site can be very expensive with interpreter travel time, flights, transfers and accommodation. There are also issues related to sourcing rare language combinations. We had a requirement for Spanish <=>Portuguese and this could not be sourced in the region, so we used remote interpreters located in Argentina.

Q. How is the service costed and how much does it cost to provide four languages using the software for one plenary session?
A. Every job and every event is different, but costs are built with the following attributes:

Base Platform
Per Language, number of interpreters
Per Smart Phone access

However, each of these aspects can be merged with existing solutions such as local interpreter booths with both remote and local interpreters, infra-red receivers, tour guide receivers and even customer supplied FM Receivers.
There are also additional costs related to professional services such as researching venue configurations, set-up of the system, testing and organising the venue internet connection, testing the interpreter's internet connection, training the interpreters with the remote platform, and monitoring lines and interpreter consoles throughout the event.

Q. What is the percentage cost saving using the new software vs traditional solutions?
A. You need to look at the total package of equipment and interpreters. There should be savings, but every job will be different.
This new technology means you can provide higher quality interpreters, as you now have a bigger pool to call upon, rather than just local interpreters. You can also add languages to your event that you might otherwise have discarded due to the overall expense of accommodating the interpreters and providing additional equipment.
The % depends on the location of the venue, its internet infrastructure capability, the number of interpreters that need to fly in and where they are from.

Q. Will the software work in all venue situations or must specific requirements be met?
A. Definitely not. This is the biggest issue with this technology. For each event we need to research and produce a solution that works for the clients requirements at that location.

At the venue we require the following;-
Bandwidth:

Source/Floor/Speaker - Minimum 4Mbps upload per video channel, audio included
Interpreters - Minimum 2Mbps down and upload per language channel, 4Mbps is recommended if multiple video channels are received.

Audience:

If smart devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones) are used: minimum 0.5Mbps download per device
If attendees connect through IR headsets, minimum 2Mbps download per language channel is sufficient

Ping on any connected device should be below 50ms to the nearest major hub, in order to keep latency low. Jitter must be below 15ms.
In addition to this, the venue must have enough access points to support the number of audience smart devices.

There are many other facets like wired connectivity, computer CPU speed, memory and configuration as well as microphone/headphone type that we work with clients to ensure that the event is a success.

Q. What are the minimum/maximum user size/optimal number of users for the software to work best?
A. There are no set limitations. There is no theoretical upper limit to the platform other than the restrictions imposed by the internet infrastructure at the venue. However, Congress Rental's integration with traditional interpretation equipment ensures we can support numbers of any size with remote interpreters, no matter the venue infrastructure.

Q. What are some likely challenges of using the software in venues in less-developed countries and what are the possible solutions?
A. Internet speed and connectivity is the key to success with this technology. Some less developed countries have excellent internet connectivity and we need to look into customers choice of venue irrespective of country. For example, Australia has very good connectivity in locations very close to the city, however regional locations may suffer from poor connectivity as the roll-out of fibre has been very slow. In contrast, regional locations in Asia have excellent connectivity.