Improving tech access for the speech-impaired

Nate Salazar
·2 min read

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — How often do you use your voice to access technology? It’s becoming really common, but it’s creating a barrier for people who have speech impairments. And Michigan State University is doing something about it.

Voice recognition technology, it’s everywhere, from phones, to computers, to our cars, and televisions, and it’s even used to access essential services like calling your doctor, or applying for jobs.

But it’s not equally available to everyone.

“It’s just not something I c-c-currently have a-access to,” said Caryn Herring, executive director of the National Association of Young People Who Stutter

Herring is a person who stutters, for her, voice-activated artificial intelligence can feel more like a hassle than a help.

It’s why Herring is working alongside engineers, psychologists, and speech pathologists at Michigan State University.

“To advance solutions that help people with disabilities and enhance their quality of life,” said Nihar Mahapatra, associate professor at MSU’s Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Mahapatra says they’ve been working on a voice recognition app called Heard AI, able to pick up, and decipher, anyone – including those who stutter.

(WLNS)
(WLNS)

“It’ll allow them to be able to access other voice-activated applications and services that are currently inaccessible by acting as an intermediary that can provide that accessibility,” Mahapatra said.

Their research just got a boost with a $5 million grant from The National Science Foundation.

Now, they can work on the transformative app, and figure out how other tech companies can integrate their program in different languages or other impairments.

“Our team just wants to show that the issue isn’t with those who stutter, or the way someone talks,” Herring said. “But the flaws are inherently within the tech itself, and we are going to change that.”

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