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Google Launches Arabic Version of 'Read Along' App

Google Launches Arabic Version of 'Read Along' App
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Google Launches Arabic Version of 'Read Along' App

Google Launches Arabic Version of 'Read Along' App

Google launched on Tuesday the Arabic version of its Read Along app for android devices. The app provides an interactive amusing experience to help children over the age of five improve their reading skills with the help of an in-app reading virtual buddy named "Dia".

The company has observed remarkable progress among children since the launch of the app earlier this year. Children who read less than 45 correct words per minute made an improvement of 35 percent to 85 percent in their oral reading fluency after using the app for 100 minutes over two to three weeks.

Once downloaded, Read Along can be used offline. It uses Google's speech recognition technique to interact with the children and help them read visual and verbal notes while reading the books provided by the app from around the world. Children can learn how to read with "Dia" which reads first then listens to the little ones' performance. It also gives positive and encouraging feedback during the reading like parents and teachers. Children can click on the image of "Dia" every time they want to listen to the pronunciation of a certain word or sentence. The app provides customized suggestions for each child based on the progress they make and offers programs and educational games that encourage them to read more.

The Arabic version of the app is characterized by a richer library that includes a collection of creative stories specially designed by Google for the app users. The stories include "Kuku going to the party," which highlights important values in the Arab world like friendship, compassion, and perseverance. The app also includes many creative stories aimed at stimulating writing, composition, and expression in Arabic.

As part of the company's commitment to promoting Arabic reading in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Google has called young writers, aged five to 11 years, to write their own stories and send them before September 30, to get the opportunity of publishing them in many languages on major educational platforms such as Read Along, The World Digital Library, and Pratham Books Storyweaver. Winners will be announced in October.

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US Self-driving Car Companies Seek Boost under Trump

A Ford Fusion hybrid, Level 4 autonomous vehicle, used by Ford Motor and Domino's Pizza to test a self-driving pizza delivery car in Michigan, is displayed during Press Days of the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan, US, January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo
A Ford Fusion hybrid, Level 4 autonomous vehicle, used by Ford Motor and Domino's Pizza to test a self-driving pizza delivery car in Michigan, is displayed during Press Days of the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan, US, January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo
TT
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US Self-driving Car Companies Seek Boost under Trump

A Ford Fusion hybrid, Level 4 autonomous vehicle, used by Ford Motor and Domino's Pizza to test a self-driving pizza delivery car in Michigan, is displayed during Press Days of the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan, US, January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo
A Ford Fusion hybrid, Level 4 autonomous vehicle, used by Ford Motor and Domino's Pizza to test a self-driving pizza delivery car in Michigan, is displayed during Press Days of the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan, US, January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo

A group representing self-driving car companies on Tuesday called on the US government to do more to speed the deployment of autonomous vehicles and remove barriers to adoption.

"The federal government is the one that needs to lead when it comes to vehicle design, construction and performance, and we just have not seen enough action out of the federal government in recent years," Jeff Farrah, who heads the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, said in an interview.

The group includes Volkswagen Ford, Alphabet's Waymo, Amazon.com's Zoox, Uber and others, Reuters reported.

The group released a policy framework calling on the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) to "assert its responsibility over the design, construction, and performance of autonomous vehicles and increase its efforts in key areas."

The group added that "federal inaction has created regulatory uncertainty" and warned China is determined to take the United States lead on autonomous vehicle technology.

"We want to make sure there is a clear pathway to getting these next-generation vehicles on the road," said Farrah.

"We have been frustrated by the lack of progress."

In December 2023, the group and others called on the USDOT to do more.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview on Monday the government was ensuring that self-driving cars would be much better than human drivers.

"I think being very rigorous in these early stages is helping these technologies start to meet their potential to save lives," Buttigieg said, adding the oversight would boost public acceptance.

The industry faces scrutiny after a pedestrian was seriously injured in October 2023 by a General Motors Cruise vehicle. The USDOT has opened investigations into self-driving vehicles operated by Cruise, Waymo and Zoox.

The autonomous vehicle group wants Congress to clarify human controls are unnecessary in automated vehicles meeting performance standards and allow companies to disable a self-driving vehicles' manual controls. It also called for creating a national AV safety data repository that would be available to state transportation agencies.

Last month, the USDOT proposed streamlining reviews of petitions to deploy self-driving vehicles without human controls like steering wheels or brake pedals.

Efforts in Congress to make it easier to deploy robotaxis on US roads without human controls have been stymied for years but may be boosted when President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Reuters and other outlets have reported Trump wants to ease deployment barriers for self-driving vehicles. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a close adviser to Trump, said in October the automaker would roll out driverless ride-hailing services in 2025.