Don't be too thrown off by the creepy sounds this robot elicits, as it may actually help hearing-impaired people improve their speech articulation
Posted 04.19.2010 at 4:12 pm
39 Comments
Humanoid Robot Mouth
Would you trust this thing to teach you proper enunciation?
Hideyuki Sawada et al
Over the weekend, video of a horrifying robot struggling to sound out vowels was passed around the web with little explanation other than, "This is creepy." Which it certainly is, but, after digging around for information, we found that despite the robot's nightmarish appearance and voice, its inventors actually intended the babbling for serious business--namely, for helping hearing-impaired people improve their speech articulation.
To enable the robot's speaking abilities, engineers at Japan's Kagawa University used an air pump, artificial vocal chords, a resonance tube, a nasal cavity, and a microphone attached to a sound analyzer as substitutes for human vocal organs. The robot not only talks, but it uses a learning algorithm to mimic the sounds of human speech. By inputting the voices of both hearing-impaired and non-hearing-impaired people into the microphone, researchers were able to plot the differences in sound on a map. During speech training, the robot "listens" to the subjects talk while comparing their pronunciation to that of subjects who are not hearing-impaired. The robot then generates a personalized visualization that allows subjects to adjust their pronunciation according to the target points on the speech map.
While the researcher's findings were published in 2008, the robot has come a long way, as it appears that early prototypes lacked lips and a human-looking nose. Check out the video below for a demonstration on the robot's speaking abilities. We are not responsible for any night terrors that may result:
It's also worth noting that the original source mentions that the robot can sing as well as speak. Now if only the kind folks at Kagawa University would release that video already.
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I must have a dirty mind, I saw something completely different from the picture in the home page.
I was prepared to read something about inflatable companion mouth pieces. Heck even the microphone placement seems a little sketchy.
I unknowingly had the volume on full when I hit the play button, so I nearly wet my pants when that thing started moaning, or whatever you would call that. Tonight I am going to have such a bad nightmare...
@convictus
what? you dont want your doll to moan?
@Thumper_DS
LOL! I didn't even think of that
LMAO!!! So many comments to be made...
The choice of the word, "moaning" in the article title doesn't help... ;)
(www.tendances-de-mode.com/en/icons)
This roughly translates to: "Subscribe, new videos added daily!"
haha...oh god...that's funny as hell but pretty messed up....=P
The Japanese designed this???
(www.bieres-et-vin.com)
What started as a goosd thing went bad as soon as they gave it a voice. Thats all i got to say bout that.
It must have been modeled after some people I ride the subway with every morning. Too bad Brent Spiner didn't have this back in '87 to base his character on. It would have changed the whole complexion of that series with hilarious results.
It's not moaning. It's trying to voice the first 5 Japanese syllables.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Hilariously stupid and a complete waste of money.
I think it is trying to say the ABC's.
Instead of forcing air out of it, install a vacuum pump to draw air back in.
The thing would fly off the shelves.
I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound like a human at all..... I am not impressed.
Moezart: Thats what Adam said to God when he gave Eve a voice...
Moezart: Thats what Adam said to God when he gave Eve a voice...
Wake up and smell the coffee! It looks like thay took an item from an adult catalog and utilized it for this device. Who knows maybe they've figured something out but what else would it get used for. The thing vibrates! Hello!
Can you imagine this robot mouth in superstores directing people where to find things?
"You can find the maaah, mooo, maaah at ailse mooo, meee, mohhh!"
Sounds like Obama when he is asked a tough question and doesn't have TOTUS (Teleprompter of the United States) in front of him.
Ah, petex. People keep saying that sort of thing, but fail to notice the teleprompters that other Presidents have used. They replaced yellow legal pads that used to be the norm. Some folks just aren't old enough to remember.
At least Obama knows better than to put food on his family and he needn't ask "Is our children learning?"
Don't misunderestimate the man. He'll go nukular on you.
Tongue.
Where is the tongue? I would think a tongue would be necessary for proper speech. Considering how crude the sound that this thing is making, I believe I'm right.
LA AH, OOH LA LA LA AH AH OOH LA LA LA OOH LA AH!
Lol
When I watch this, Dory from Finding Nemo instantly comes to mind.
I bet that thing gives great head, If you add a tongue im never going to leave the house
I bet that thing gives great head, If you add a tongue im never going to leave the house
why do my posts come up double?
why do my posts come up double?
@ mikoses2081
Remember what Mom probably said so long ago: "Young Man, THINK before you DO!"
Dude. . .those are PISTONS in there. If you have a power outage and you get STUCK, and you call 911. . .man oh man, you WILL be on the 10 O'Clock News!
In fact, you will have to PAY the EMS workers and the Cops NOT to take any phone cam vid!
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AT&T sucks, and so do you, although AT&T sucks considerably more. Why O why cant I have an Iphone with verizon ?!?!?
Did I mention AT&T sucks?
Wheres the FUKKING video? Why doesnt it appear when using an Iphone? PopSci hacks! I guess their too busy making annoying popup ads.
VERY creepy...
also @hherbson:
its not showing on your iphone b/c of flash, so its not PopSci's fault. Its the same reason it won't show on a 64bit explorer browser and i have to switch to the 32 bit version. Although the popup crap is annoying, i will give you that.
That's funny , but absolutely Messed the fukk up,LOL
Similar robots have been popping up in Japans universities. It is interesting that they try to create sound in a more natural way (no speakers). Far scarier looking is the WD-2 robot which morphs faces in real time rather eerily. While it might sound harder to try to recreate vocal cords and lungs/w diaphram, tongue, jaw and lip movement incorporating speakers into a robot and syncing mouth movements will prove tricky in creating a natural sound vs system that mimic correctly what we do.
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1197 (face morphing robot)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etRvggfbVRg has a robot with lungs, tongue, and plays the flute- to mimic us is to grant our versatility. But with possibility for fine controlled and steady output, wont be long until Japanese Idol has a robot contestant ;P
The odd choice of sounds it makes is based on sounds that make up various languages, I've seen other talking robots that have dialect sounds for different languages. The timing is only to represent it can make those distinct sounds with variables then quickly demonstrate from 0 output the next one- once you have that down you can combine them into tongue tying phrases.