In yet another show of support of the open-source nature of Android by the U.S. Military, Engadget is reporting that DARPA (the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency) is in the early stages of testing translation software to help NATO troops in Afganistan. DARPA teamed up with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to make it all possible, and an-Android based program is one of several possible systems the duo are testing.
Google already offers the free Google Translate app [Market | AppBrain], but it would be no surprise that the needs of troops on the ground exceed what it can do. Let hope that this testing works out and finds its way to the battlefield quickly. I personally know a ton of people going into the military who will likely be deployed, and technology like this can only make their jobs that much easier.
NIST seems more than happy to make Star Trek references in their official video, which you can view for yourself after the break. [NIST via Engadget]
