Research > Faculty Projects

ITR: The Vocal Joystick: Voice-based Assistive Technology for Individuals with Motor Impairments

Principal Investigator
Jeff Bilmes, Howard Chizeck, Patricia Dowden (Speech and Hearing), Katrin Kirchhoff, James Landay (Computer Science & Engineering), Richard Wright (Linguistics)

Sponsor(s)
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Award Period
10/01/2003 - 09/30/2008

Abstract
This project will develop extensible technology that we call the vocal joystick (VJ). With the VJ, humans with mobility impairments will be able to use their voices to control devices in a variety of novel ways. Rather than using standard spoken language which an be quite inefficient at such tasks, the VJ will allow users to control browsers, robotic devices, and so on using the much richer set of sounds that are producible using the human vocal system. This technology will therefore help to enable these users to lead more independent and productive lives.

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