RE: [UACCESS-L] Device Turns Body's Electrical Signals Into Speech.

["Robert Carnegie" <Robert.Carnegie@seemis.gov.uk>]

As an experience, is this just like speaking normally, but slowly?  A lot of people, not only with a speech difficulty, could use a device that picks up the voice without speaking aloud – even if slowly, which perhaps could be improved - as the cellphone accessory implies.  In fact, it could be suitable for a workplace, for speech computer control – works for me (I wish) -  or for a noisy telephone call centre.  And of course phoning in that ransom demand anonymously.

 

Of course the modern cellphone often is a pretty sharp computer in its own right.

 

From: uaccess-l-admin@trace.wisc.edu [mailto:uaccess-l-admin@trace.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Gregg Vanderheiden
Sent: 21 May 2009 14:40
To: Uaccess-L
Subject: [UACCESS-L] Device Turns Body's Electrical Signals Into Speech.

 

Device Turns Body's Electrical Signals Into Speech.

Popular Science (5/20, Katayama) reports on the Audeo, "a voice synthesizer that gives back the ability to speak to those with vocal cord or neurological damage." The device uses "three pill-size electrodes on the throat" that "pick up electrical signals generated between the brain and the vocal cords. A processor in the device then filters and amplifies the signals and sends them to an adjacent PC, where software decodes them and turns them into words spoken through the PC's speakers." Currently, the device "allows people to use all English-language phonemes...so there's no limit on what a user can say." And while it "can pick up a maximum of 30 words per minute" it can also "do neat things like enable people to carry on phone conversations without making a sound." Its inventors are "working on a cellphone interface, with the goal of scrapping the computer completely and reducing the price."

Gregg

-----------------------

Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D.

Director Trace R&D Center

Professor Industrial & Systems Engineering

and Biomedical Engineering

University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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