Overcoming the current translation limitations with its self-developed multimodal technology
Converting previous translation into database that services to improve quality.
Conquering webtoon translations following web novels.
Where are the limits of AI? After the release of Chat GPT, public interest in the limitations of AI has increased. Twigfarm (CEO Sun-ho Baek) is a startup that challenges the limits of AI by translating multiple languages like a native speaker. Twigfarm provides translation services that naturally translate colloquialisms and various information, including images, tailored to the context, in response to the global popularity of K-content such as webtoons and web novels.
On March 6th, Twigfarm joined hands with the K-content powerhouse, KIDARI Studio, taking a step closer to their vision of contributing to the global expansion of K-content. Of course, there is a translation system in place, but it fell short in localizing webtoons with a high proportion of colloquial expressions while translating primarily based on text.
Twigfarm aims to overcome this limitation with its self-developed webtoon-dedicated translation with the Multimodal engine. Multimodal utilizes various information, including text and images, as learning data, enabling more precise and natural translations by extracting information from webtoon images.
Government research and development projects are also underway. In April of last year, Twigfarm was selected as the main organization for the Information and Communication Broadcasting Technology Development Project and participated in the "Automatic Caption Generation and Editing Technology Development Project for Spoken Language Broadcasting Content" continued until the end of this year.
Translation companies have made various attempts to speed up the translation process, including collaborative work by multiple translators and the introduction of AI technology, but were limited to the inconsistency of the translation quality.
Twigfarm overcomes these limitations by analyzing the documents to be translated using AI technology to extract commonly used words and sentences. It then determines the translation based on the field and terminology. Additionally, the AI technology continuously learns and improves by converting the translation dictionaries that serve as the basis for terminology into a database (DB),thereby enhancing the quality of translation. This puts Twigfarm one step ahead of Google Translate. Twigfarm's AI translation technology has also been patented.
The technology used here is "Artificial Neural Networks." After Google applied this technology in 2016, the translation industry underwent significant changes, and Twigfarm is one of the outcomes. Artificial Neural Networks are software implementations of networks of neurons, the smallest unit of human thought. They have a structure like the human brain and can undergo continuous learning.
Of course, it does not reach the level of perfect translation. To overcome this drawback, Twigfarm employs professional translators for secondary translation. This is then stored as data. The combination of AI and human expertise forms the community of Twigfarm.
Currently, Twigfarm is expanding K-content not only in webtoons and web novels but also in dramas, OTT, and other platforms, establishing a stable position in the global market. They have translated 1,000 hours of broadcast content, showcasing the strength of the cultural powerhouse.
Furthermore, Twigfarm has automated the entire process from requests to delivery by integrating with the content management systems of companies. They also continuously conduct research on data collection, preprocessing, and model improvement to respond quickly to changing market trends. To support this, they have adopted Graphcore's IPU (Intelligence Processing Unit), which offers a learning speed 10 times faster than GPUs while reducing costs.
Twigfarm values the principle of "growing together." Therefore, they plan to supply their translation technology to domestic content companies and translation agencies. Sun-ho Baek, expressed the desire for "great domestic content to spread and be recognized worldwide" and aims to contribute to the growth and development of the domestic content ecosystem.