Google made an app to ease communication for individuals with speech impairments | Engadget

For too lengthy, individuals with speech impairments have struggled to be understood not solely by different individuals, but additionally by voice-based know-how. Though some firms have began to make their merchandise work higher for individuals with atypical speech, probably the most prevalent companies nonetheless do not hear them nicely. Google announced today that it is made a brand new Android app referred to as Project Relate that would assist individuals with speech impairments talk extra simply with others and the Assistant. It’s looking for beta testers to check and enhance the app beginning as we speak.

Like product supervisor for Google Research Julie Cattiau stated in a video, “standard speech recognition doesn’t always work as well for people with atypical speech because the algorithms have not been trained on samples of their speech.” Project Relate would use customized fashions skilled on every particular person consumer’s speech patterns. When somebody first launches the app, it will ask them to repeat just a few phrases to create a base mannequin and perceive the best way they communicate. 

Then, Project Relate can do three issues: Transcribe the consumer’s speech into textual content that they’ll copy and paste or present to individuals on their display screen, learn out what the consumer stated in a synthesized voice and communicated with the Google Assistant. 

The app continues to be being examined, with the corporate saying it should get again candidates for beta testing positions “in the coming months.” But this is a crucial first step in direction of enhancing speech recognition for these with atypical speech. 

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