Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
- TokenAI says users could photograph ancient inscriptions and receive structured English or Arabic translations without using a separate vision model.
- The smaller Horus Hiero Mini model can run on ordinary processors and mobile devices, making offline translation possible on cheaper hardware.
An Egyptian startup says its new artificial intelligence can read and translate Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics from pictures.
Alexandria-based TokenAI has launched two models called Horus Hiero and Horus Hiero Mini.
The company says someone could eventually point a phone camera at an ancient inscription and receive a translation in English or Arabic, iAfrica reported.
The technology could be useful for tourists, museum visitors, researchers and people working with historical archives.
TokenAI says the models can recognise individual symbols, work out their sounds and translate their meaning.
They are also designed to understand the wider religious, historical and cultural meaning behind groups of symbols.
This matters because hieroglyphics are not always simple lists of separate words.
For example, several symbols appearing together can express a larger sacred or historical message.
TokenAI says existing AI tools can often identify individual symbols but struggle with ancient grammar and full translations.
The company says Horus Hiero can translate images of inscriptions without relying on a separate vision model.
The models can also work across modern Arabic dialects and more than 100 other languages.
TokenAI says the larger Horus Hiero model can process entire books or several papyrus documents at once.
The smaller Horus Hiero Mini was designed to run on standard computer processors and mobile devices.
This could make offline translation possible on cheaper devices.
TokenAI says its own tests gave the larger model an overall score of 90% on its hieroglyphic benchmark.
The smaller model scored 84.2%.
These results come from the company and have not been independently confirmed.
TokenAI plans to release both models as open-weight tools under a custom developer licence.
It is also working on a Horus Chat website and mobile service.
Pictured above: TokenAI’s Horus Hiero models can read and translate Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics from images.
Image source: Pexels
