It's fantastic when a child can use a communication devise to let those around him or her know what they want, how they feel and other previously unattainable basics that we all take so much for granted. However, up to now we have had to ignore the fact that the computer generated voice sounded more like something off a sci-fi film. Think of Stephen Hawking's machine for a child.
Now though, a ground-breaking project has unveiled the world's first genuine, natural-sounding children's voices for users of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC).
The voices, created by Acapela Group and AssistiveWare, are included in the Proloquo2Go App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch through a new free update released on the App Store.
'Harry' and 'Rosie' were recorded by and for children to use as their preferred 'Text to Speech' voice to communicate a want, need or thought using symbol-based communication or typing with word prediction.
Anna Reeves, National AAC Coordinator for England, said: "These new voices will further transform the lives of children who cannot speak and the lives of those around them. It may be the very first time that families hear their own children speak with a child's voice - you can't put a price on that."
Amazing. I an this would be very useful not just for children who cannot speak but who wont speak for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteI imagnie this is also a very useful tool for those children who do not want to speak but could.
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