The Voiceitt app uses AI speech recognition technology to allow people with non-standard and dysarthric speech to communicate more easily with others, which could help people suffering from disorders such as Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, autism, strokes, and more. After a brief training period, the Voiceitt app can turn a user’s statements into normalized speech, which it outputs in the form of audio or text messages, instantly. Voice-controlled apps and devices can also easily understand the newly generated audio or written messages, but Voiceitt can also be used to help people with speech impediments communicate face to face with other people.

In the US and Europe, a combined 10.4 million people suffer from speech disabilities, and 8% of all children suffer from a consistent or temporary communications disorder. Voicitt’s core mission is to make voice recognition technology more accessible, even for users who are not able to replicate common speech patterns that most voice recognition technology uses. The most common type of atypical acoustic control is dysarthria, which is caused by either congenital or acquired conditions that affect the physical production of speech. Congenital causes are usually the result of complications during pregnancy (like asphyxiation to the brain) — with cerebral palsy (CP) among the most common conditions. Around the world, CP is the most common cause of disability among children, and nearly 90% of all children with CP have a temporary or permanent diagnosis of dysarthria. For older individuals, late-onset dysarthria is most commonly caused by cerebrovascular stroke, which affects 1% of all individuals and 5% of people over the age of 65, globally. Other sources include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s Disease (PD), brain cancer, and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Through a hybrid of unique statistical modeling and machine learning, Voiceitt enables users to overcome communication barriers and help them connect with the world. Voiceitt’s proprietary technology is patent protected, and harnesses the power of AI, advanced pattern matching, and Bayesian networks to analyze the unique speech patterns of each user. Voiceitt technology does not assume a standard speech model, thus, making it the only voice recognition technology accessible to individuals with disabilities and atypical speech.

In 2017, Voiceitt was awarded a €1.2 million grant by the European Union to fund research and development. The grant, which is part of the Horizon 2020 SME Phase II Instrument, helped the company launch a large-scale, global beta testing program in four different countries that fall under the mandate of the Horizon 2020 charter countries. The project enables Voiceitt to collect speech data in found different languages, as well as gain valuable user insights on a meaningful scale. The project is the first time that Voiceitt has performed large-scale testing, and it is intended to help the company on its journey towards commercialization. Facilitated by the EU grant, Voicitt is currently conducting tests in Israel, Italy, the UK, and Spain. 

This project addresses the third SDG of promoting Good Health and Well-Being by allowing people with disabilities to overcome communication barriers so they can participate more fully with the world around them.