Audio Adaptor and Method
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Audio Adaptor & Method
Audio Adaptor and Method is a device that enables people with speech impairments to use text-to-speech apps more easily during telephone calls. This invention was accepted for a U.S. Patent in March 2017.
Research topics
accessibility, audio adapters, mobile apps, text-to-speech
The desired outcomes for Audio Adaptor and Method For Assistive Text-To-Speech (TTS) Apps were to integrate functions in one device that existed previously only in separate devices and with non-obvious means to combine them: (1) attenuation and mixing line-level audio produced by a TTS app into a phone call such that both the app user and the person listening on the other end can hear it; and (2) mixing mic-level audio from a speaking person into the same call such that both parties can hear it.
This audio adapter will improve accessibility for people who use TTS apps. One TTS vendor has stated the following: “It is not possible to make phone calls using [our app] on iPhone. However, you can speak over a phone using your device and another phone set to speaker phone.” This adaptor will let people make calls using TTS more conveniently, with higher quality audio, and with more privacy. It can also be used to mix any line level audio sources into phone calls.
Project contact
William McIver Jr.