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Electrode Implant Gives Mute Man a (Synthesized) Voice
Posted by
timothy
on Thu Dec 04, 2008 06:12 PM
from the paradoxically-enough dept.
from the paradoxically-enough dept.
Iddo Genuth writes with an excerpt from The Future of Things: "A surgical procedure performed by a team from Boston University, Massachusetts led by Professor Frank Guenther, has enabled a mute man to speak again. An electrode implanted in the patient's brain made it possible for the patient to produce vowels by thinking them, using a speech synthesizer. In the future, this breakthrough may help patients with similar injuries produce entire sentences, using signals from their brains."
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Using your brain to talk ... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Using your brain to talk ... (Score:5, Funny)
Or complete silence.
Parent
Your voice is pwed (Score:2)
I am going to order the Patrick Stewart chip (Score:1)
Just think you tell anyone Resistance is futile. (but your still not getting to Second Base)
Re:Using your brain to talk ... (Score:5, Funny)
If I involuntarily said whatever I was thinking, my girlfriend would never stop slapping me.
Parent
Re:Using your brain to talk ... (Score:5, Funny)
I think my girlfriend would forgive me, but I'm pretty sure I'd find myself out of a job, in a dozen harrassment suits, and pepper-sprayed blind, and that's just by the end of the week.
Parent
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Keep going (Score:5, Interesting)
Eventually you might get to a direct brain-computer interface that healthy people (like me) will want to get installed.
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I've asked this question of many people, and I usually get about the same response:
At what risk factor would you be willing to undertake replacement of your eye(s) with cybernetic equivalent(s)? Even with improved capabilities in the new eye(s) such as information display, some minor microscope/telescope functionality, etc, how much risk would you be willing to accept, if the risk included never being able to see again?
For most people to whom I pose this question, the odds of failure have to be extraordina
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I was more thinking of having extra senses added. No need to remove my healthy eyes, just give me a piggyback link to the visual cortex and I can hook into any camera on the market.. or virtual world. Same for output.
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I am technically blind in my right eye due to a congenital defect in my lens. I lack sterioscopic vision. My right eye is extremely long sigted, so my brain ignores the input. If i close my left eye input is recieved but it of very poor quality. My left eye is better than 20/20. I would be willing to try out any cybernetic implants that would restore funtionality to my right eye. I would also have perfect vision with which to compare the effectivness with.
I would like low light and infrared vision, as well
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There is always the risk of the doctor installing the device to your good eye and failing.
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At the level where they can do cyber-eyes, likely they could redo a flub. So I think for me it's really a price point, not a risk point. I'd spring for thermal at about $200 today.
Yeah...
I'm going to be waiting a LONG time.
I am an optimist... I hope! (Score:5, Insightful)
But having a synthesised voice on the other hand, is way cool.
You could go around quoting robotic things like "would-you-like-to-play-a-game-[?]", or configure yourself to sound like GLADDoS or that machine thing from robo cop.
Or Microsoft Sam.
Of all the disabilities this would be the most "Ohhh... well.. huh. Guess that's kind of cool".
I'm serious.
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Losing your voice would suck. But having a synthesised voice on the other hand, is way cool. You could go around quoting robotic things like "would-you-like-to-play-a-game-[?]"
or you could start a career as a stephen Hawking impersonator.
Re:I am an optimist... I hope! (Score:4, Interesting)
Modern voice synthesizers have very realistic sounding voices now . That was one problem Steven Hawking found out - his voice synthesizer wore out after a good few years. Much to his annoyance, the modern synthesizers were too human-like and really took away part of his character. I believe he had to go to one of the electronic components surplus stores to get his voice "repaired".
Parent
Re:I am an optimist... I hope! (Score:5, Informative)
There is no way Stephen Hawking had to go to a surplus store to get a Centrino Pentium M, running XP [hawking.org.uk], made by Intel for him repaired.
And the software "Equalizer" was ported to XP for him.
In short, I call BS.
Parent
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I dunno. Losing an eye and having it replaced (in the future) with a bionic implant having telescoping vision and infrared would beat a synthesized voice... although I'd imagine that if you could tweak your own software to produce any voice you want it could be fun.
Of course, at this point neither of these technologies are quite so well developed yet.
Re:I am an optimist... I hope! (Score:4, Funny)
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave."
Parent
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I'd like to have a bionic eye replace my screwy left eye which won't focus properly. *.*
-uso.
Re:I am an optimist... I hope! (Score:4, Funny)
Oh yeah, I can't wait to make myself sound like a [growling tiger|squealing pig] when I do fall down or aim at someone!
Heck, if we're talking about giving ourselves robotic voices I want to shout "EXTERMINATE!" in a shrill voice whenever I see a British man with bad teeth, a brown coat, and an outlandishly long and colorful scarf. :-D
Parent
Re:I am an optimist... I hope! (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
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growling tiger|squealing pig
Is it a movie sequel?
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Tourettes syndrome (Score:4, Funny)
"Pig!" *SLAP*
Now what about.... (Score:2, Insightful)
if you have a fear of public speaking? I'm not a doctor, but what happens first, the thought of what you want to say or the fear of saying it in front of people? Along the same lines, what about thoughts becoming verbalized?
Re:Now what about.... (Score:4, Insightful)
...what about thoughts becoming verbalized?
I would imagine it would depend on the part of the brain being used by the device...one would hope that they tap into the part of the brain that has already decided what sounds it would like to make rather than picking up random unfiltered thoughts.
Parent
Oh dear (Score:5, Funny)
[...] made it possible for the patient to produce vowels by thinking them
I hope the guy isn't welsh...
uh oh (Score:2)
In the future, this breakthrough may help patients with similar injuries produce entire sentences, using signals from their brains."
Or give rise to the Strogg [wikipedia.org]. I, for one, welcome our new cybernetic overlords.
Small Jump to Telepathy (Score:3, Insightful)
Put that in a grant application.
I'd imagine a number of places (DARPA for example) would certainly be interested in seeing how this research progressed.
Re:Small Jump to Telepathy (Score:5, Interesting)
On another note, does anyone know if the speech production areas of the brain overlap with those with sub vocalization, or mouthing words? Just curious.
Parent
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Do You Feel Like We Do (Score:5, Funny)
Interesting (Score:4, Interesting)
Steven hawking should get one so he can talk faste (Score:2)
Steven hawking should get one so he can talk faster
In completely unrelated news... (Score:3, Funny)
Now, one can TALK TO GOD at a MILLION 8 (Score:1)
BAUD.
Imagine being a one-throat Paul Hardcastle, being 25 instruments at once. That could almost be the Borq Queen, except the vocal cords could span space, time, and reach out to beings such as dogs.
If he goes hunting, he could "talk dog" while on the move. "Rrrrr... Cut 'em off to the left, Tigger!"
"RRRR-Roger That. Roof!"
But, Christmas carolling could be quite interesting if an ensemble of such-equipped singers got "jacked" into morphing the Little Drummer Boy to the Little Humpmer Boy "I want you to Hum
Bah. Irrelevant. (Score:2)
Vowels are worth nothing.
Consonants are worth $500.
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No kidding... "enabled a mute man to speak again"? TFA has a very generous idea of "speaking".
A, A, E, I. O U, E I O U. E I E I O.
Hmm, I think I have a talent for this. I should write a novel.
What I really want to know is.. (Score:2)
Can mute people whisper?
When asked for comment (Score:2)
When asked for comment, Gunther's patient responded simply, "AAAIIEIIEUUUOOOEEEEIIIAAAAEEEE!!!"
Apes (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Yessiree, Darth Vader is the voice I'M pickin!
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Spelt??
I hope you are trying to be funny.
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spelt [merriam-webster.com]
chiefly British past and past participle of SPELL