Weird-looking robotic silicone mouth can replicate human speech

by ruchi

At the first instance, this robot looks gross and it is difficult to guess it to be a robotic silicon mouse. But you got to get over its looks to know the kind of interesting job this one does- replicate human speech. The silicon mouth here can actually replicate human speech through its moving lips and tongue that too sans any speakers or digital waves. It uses airflow and control valves to replicate the human trachea and vocal cords, whereas a resonance tube acts like a silicone throat that manipulates air into distinct sounds.







It uses a computer here to process and analyse the pitch and other parameters of the sound to make ensure the reproduction is closest to the human voice. For now, the robot can pronounce a number of Japanese alphabet sounds and also sing a basic song but there is definitely room for improvement. The prototype was being showcased at the Robotech event in Tokyo.



[Japan Trends]