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Voice controlled technology like Amazon Echo, Siri, or hands free features in Google Maps are thing we\u2019re starting to take for granted. But as Mary Meeker\u2019s 2017 Internet Trends Report<\/a> noted, \u00a0voice controls are changing computer-human interfaces, and industries, broadly. Speech recognition or voice controls are being added to medical devices and business applications, even vehicles and industrial robotics.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s a problem\u2013 voice systems have been built for standard speech today. That leaves out millions of people who live with speech impairments, or who just have a strong accent.\u00a0Now, a Tel Aviv-based startup called\u00a0Voiceitt<\/a> has raised $2 million in seed funding to translate speech that\u2019s not easily intelligible into clear words.<\/p>\n The startup, which was co-founded by CEO Danny Weissberg and CTO Stas Tiomkin, is a graduate of the DreamIt Health<\/a> accelerator. Investors in Voiceitt\u2019s seed round included: Amit Technion, Dreamit Ventures, Quake Capital, Buffalo Angels and 1,000 Angels and other angels.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how Voiceitt works: users fire up the company\u2019s app, and it asks them to compose then read short, useful sentences out loud like \u201cI\u2019m thirsty,\u201d or \u201cTurn off the lights.\u201d\u00a0The software records and begins to learn the speaker\u2019s particular pronunciation. A caregiver can type phrases into the app if the user is not able to do so independently.<\/p>\n After a brief training period, the Voiceitt app can turn the user\u2019s statements into normalized speech, which it outputs in the form of audio or text messages, instantly. Voice-controlled apps and devices can easily understand the newly generated audio or written messages. But Voiceitt can also be used to help people with speech impediments communicate face to face with other people.<\/p>\n A woman with a speech impairment uses Voiceitt to \u201ctranslate\u201d her words into a clear message.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dreamit\u2019s\u00a0Karen Griffith Gryga said investors view Voiceitt as a technology that\u2019s starting with \u201cthe thing edge of the wedge,\u201d in the market for assistive tech. But it could be expanded to help people with strong accents use whatever voice-enabled technology Seattle or Silicon Valley comes up with next.<\/p>\n Weissberg explained that he came up with the idea for Voiceitt after his grandmother suffered from speech impairments following a stroke. The CEO said, \u201cI realized how we take for granted the way we communicate by speaking. Losing this is really terrible, one of the hardest aspects of stroke recovery. So I didn\u2019t say, right away, let\u2019s start a company. But I began to talk with speech therapists and occupational therapists, and to learn everything I can about the problem and whether there was a market in need, there.\u201d<\/p>\n An early version of Voiceitt will be available next year, but the app is in beta tests now.\u00a0The company\u2019s pilot customers are hospitals and schools, and people there who have speech differences because of a health condition, like those with cerebral palsy, down syndrome, parkinsons, or who are recovering from a traumatic brain injury or stroke.<\/p>\n Long-term, Weissberg said, \u201cThis could really be an accessibility extension to speech recognition for anyone, Google, Amazon, Apple, IBM or Microsoft. We\u2019d love to function like a major OEM and work with all the major platforms.<\/p>\n Featured Image: dane_mark\/DigitalVision\/Getty Images<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/06\/orit-1.png?w=738&h=416\")
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Voice controlled technology like Amazon Echo, Siri, or hands free features in Google Maps are thing we’re starting to take for granted. But as Mary Meeker’s 2017 Internet Trends Report noted, \u00a0voice controls are changing computer-human interfaces, and industries, broadly. Speech recognition or voice controls are being added to medical devices and business applications, even… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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