Jul 262012
The NY Times looks at how more genuine-sounding children’s voices are now being included in communication software for kids with disabilities. While the technology still can’t reproduce the countless nuances of human vocalization, it’s still an improvement over the robotic monotone voices that used to be standard on most kids’ talkers. As research on neural computer interfaces advances, perhaps kids and adults with speech impairments will be able to speak with whatever voice they choose at a rate comparable to natural speech. But until that tech arrives, it’s good to see software developers giving some thought to the style as well as the substance of communication.
