Technology provides help for the handicap again

[afriendlygeek]

One of the subjects that I keep an eye on is how technology can help those with a handicap. I think it is wonderful that we can actually hear Roger Ebert talk again. In light of the tech development, we all may want to record our voice in case we need it for the future.

 

Although he lost his voice to cancer surgery, Roger Ebert is sounding like his old self thanks to some innovative software. The famous film critic, known for his spirited debates with the late Gene Siskel on their "At the Movies" show, has survived a difficult few years.

 

Diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002, Ebert underwent a series of operations that eventually robbed him of his voice and lower jaw, taking away his ability to speak, eat, and drink. To communicate with the outside world, he has relied on traditional text-to-speech (TTS) software that speaks whatever he types.

 

But traditional TTS software is far from perfect. The voice that comes out of the computer can sound robotic and mechanical. One of the best-known examples is probably the audio system used by famed physicist Stephen Hawking. Voices that use an accent for added flair--Ebert initially tried a British voice--often mispronounce words and are still hard to understand.

 

Then one day, as Ebert writes on his Web site, he was surfing the Web and discovered a site for a company called CereProc with a new kind of TTS software, one that builds voices based on a person's actual recordings

 

More here.