Text-to-speech (TTS), fundamental to technologies such as IVR systems (http://www.plumvoice.com/products/ivr-systems) is the creation of human speech from text characters. Most famously, TTS is what Stephen Hawking, who suffers from Lou Gehrig�s disease, uses to speak.
TTS goes back to the 1939 World�s Fair and the introduction of the Voder synthesizer, which was the first machine to electronically create speech. In 1961, Bell Labs demonstrated the first speech synthesis by a computer.
In the mid-1980s, Stephen Hawking first began using a custom speech synthesizer attached to his wheelchair. Hawking uses software that enables him to choose words from menus using a switch in his hand, then use a speech synthesizer to vocalize the words.
With this technology, Hawking has been able to write several books, give frequent lectures and even narrate a television show. Perhaps because of his disability, he has one of the most recognizable voices around.
However, TTS�s most common use is in the IVR (http://www.plumvoice.com) industry, where it has long been a staple of the technology. In IVR systems, TTS translates the text in call flows into messages transmitted to callers into the system. While most IVR systems also incorporate recording technology to transmit recorded messages, TTS enables call-flow designers to quickly create call flows with any text they need.
While early researchers envisioned TTS as a learning tool for reading disabilities or a way for the blind to enjoy books, today�s researchers are working to find uses in an array of industries including business, entertainment and medicine as well as education.
Author: Charlie E. Smith
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