Most of us take it for granted that we can be heard and understood by everyone we speak to. But for those suffering from speech impairments, daily life can be a struggle. That’s where Talkitt comes in.
It’s an app that recognises the user’s vocal patterns and speaks their words for them in a computerized, Stephen Hawking-style voice. It works on any smartphone or tablet, and speaks in any language.
As such, it has the potential to improve daily life for millions of people all over the world. It’ll allow them to meet friends, shop, make phone calls, participate in classes and lessons, and generally be able to do all the things we take for granted.
It’s estimated that 1.5 per cent of the world’s population live with speech disabilities brought on by strokes, ALS, cerebral palsy, brain damage, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, autism, and hearing disabilities, among others.
Talkitt won’t only improve their lives, it’ll also aid communication with their family members, caregivers and friends.
Other communication aids exist, but Talkitt is the only one that uses the user’s voice. It also doesn’t need any expensive technical medical devices – all you need is a smartphone or tablet that has a microphone, and the Talkitt app.
It works with a whole range of speech disabilities too, from mild to extremely severe, thanks to its innovative pattern recognition software.
It’s backed by more than 20 partners including hospitals, universities and technology companies. It’s currently raised over $13,000 of its $50,000 funding goal. To contribute, or to find out more, check out its funding page on Indiegogo.
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