Custom Text-to-Speech Program Gives Back Ebert's Voice
Custom Text-to-Speech Program Gives Back Ebert's Voice
Posted 03/03/2010 at 6:14am
| by Paul Lilly
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After a long bout with skin cancer, film critic Roger Ebert lost a portion of his jaw, leaving him unable to speak. Helping him to get that ability back is a company in Scotland called CereProc who designed a custom text-to-speech program.
"It won't be me, but will cheer me up," Ebert stated while demonstrating the program."You'll know it's a computer, but one that sounds like me."
To create the effect, CereProc took hours of Ebert's past movie commentaries to custom tailor the program. For words they couldn't find, they've pieced together syllable by syllable.
View the video interview here.
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Keith E. Whisman
March 03, 2010 at 9:34pm
that is so sad.
Why cant they make a prosthetic jaw for people that have their lower jaws removed? It can be done I'm sure. Instead of ripping out all the muscle tissue that is attached to the jaw a prosthetic jaw could be made in advance and when the old jaw is removed the new one can be put in. I just don't see why that can't happen. I've thought about it and thought about it over and over in my head.
I'm sure a surgeon here can confirm it's possible. I know if I had my lower jaw removed I would let it happen until a prosthetic device was ready and waiting to be installed.
compro01
March 04, 2010 at 12:36am
The muscle and skin were removed because that was where the cancer was, not in the bone.
damazeen
March 03, 2010 at 10:20am
Here's to the day when that kind of tech becomes available for everybody.
That white apple is quite big, by the way.
Here today, gone tomorrow. Live life.
roninnder
March 03, 2010 at 3:04pm
It is available to everyone. Don't blame the company that makes the software for the fact that you haven't done your part by recording thousands of hours of your own voice saying nearly every word imaginable. Besides, this isn't really a product for "everybody" it's more for people that can't talk, which is still the vast minority of people.
damazeen
March 03, 2010 at 10:16pm
Glad to know that it's available to everyone. I don't recall blaming the company. I think I understood that this is for people who can't talk, what you didn't understand was that by "product for everybody" I meant everybody that can't talk. Comments should be read after reading the article. That way when one (I) writes a comment, no need to mention the obvious.
Here today, gone tomorrow. Live life.
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