VocaliD teams with Tobii Dynavox to Humanize the Voice within Assistive Communication Devices
Partnership offers consumers an unprecedented opportunity to express themselves
Sep 26, 2016, 08:00 ET
BELMONT, Mass., Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The speech technology company VocaliD announced today a partnership agreement with Tobii Dynavox to bring a new generation of truly personalized voices for those with speech impairment. The partnership gives new and existing users of Tobii Dynavox devices the option to be heard through their own VocaliD voice.
"Pairing VocaliD's personalized, natural-sounding voices with Tobii Dynavox's industry-leading assistive devices is a game-changer for millions who have historically relied on a handful of generic, computerized voices," said Rupal Patel, Founder and CEO of VocaliD. "Every person living with a speech impairment has a unique vocal identity that deserves to be heard, and this partnership will help make this a reality."
VocaliD's customized voices are uniquely crafted by blending the recipient's "vocal DNA" with recordings of a matched speech donor from the company's Voicebank of 14,000+ contributors of all ages from over 110 countries around the world. Any voice donor can also use their own recordings to craft a personalized voice without the need for blending. For users with progressive conditions, such as ALS, this solution is a means to preserve and digitize their unique voice for use on their Tobii Dynavox device.
"We are excited to offer this cutting-edge innovation to our customers and provide a new dimension in personalization," says Fredrik Ruben, President of Tobii Dynavox. "Our partnership with VocaliD presents an extraordinary opportunity for people to express their thoughts and personality like never before."
Now, Tobii Dynavox users like Max Plansky, a teenager with cerebral palsy from Danvers, MA, finally has a voice of his own. As Max's father Michael explains, "Max's device allowed him to participate in conversations. With his VocaliD voice, Max is now empowered to be himself as he gets to express his thoughts in his own voice, not someone else's. Whenever he speaks I can hear his soul in his voice – can't put a price on that."
To order a Tobii Dynavox compatible custom VocaliD voice visit https://www.vocalid.co/products or http://www.tobiidynavox.com/VocaliD.
About VocaliD
VocaliD Inc. is a Belmont, MA speech technology company that creates the first-ever custom crafted voices, so every voice is heard. Using its cutting-edge technology, VocaliD blends brief samples of a recipient's vocalization with several hours of speech recorded by a matched donor in its Human Voicebank. The result is a voice that sounds like the recipient in age, personality, and vocal identity but is as clear and understandable as the donor. Voice donors can also use their own recordings to create a digitized replica for text-to-speech applications. For more information on VocaliD, visit www.vocaliD.co.
About Tobii
Tobii is the global leader in eye tracking. Our vision is a world where all technology works in harmony with natural human behavior. Tobii operates through three business units: Tobii Dynavox makes specially designed computers that are controlled by eye movement or touch screens for use by people with special needs due to spinal cord injuries, CP, ALS or other medical conditions. Tobii Pro develops and sells eye-tracking equipment and services used today by more than 3,000 companies and 2,000 research institutions, including all of the world's 50 highest ranked universities. Tobii Tech further develops Tobii's technology for new volume markets, such as computer games, personal computers, virtual reality and vehicles. Tobii is headquartered in Sweden and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (TOBII). The group has over 600 employees. For more information, please visit http://www.tobii.com/.
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SOURCE VocaliD