text to speech ai

text to speech ai

The Importance of Text to Speech AI

1. Introduction

The late trend toward AI has fueled widespread interest in text-to-speech software. The goal is to enable computers to generate human-like speech for a variety of purposes—ranging from verbal interfaces to simply enriching the interaction between a system and its user. The TTS reader is the software that conveys this understanding of a written text to the potential meaning and inflection a human being would use when reading the text aloud. This knowledge of the text’s semantics is thus an essential component of TTS systems. It differentiates them from other systems designed to manipulate phonetic sounds. These systems, such as automatic dubbing software, can certainly be built around a TTS system using the TTS system to generate translated scripts which are then spoken in the foreign language. TTS systems can also be used to aid in developing foreign language speaking skills. In this case, the TTS system can generate a native language text and using knowledge of the target language’s phonology, morphing rules, and simple translation generate a foreign language text. This foreign language text can then be used in a language learning tool to provide on-the-fly translation and language-specific pronunciation guides for the text. A particularly novel application of TTS synthesis involving foreign language learning was the foreign language buddy. The Foreign Language Buddy could hold simple spoken dialogs with children in multiple languages. It was developed as a language learning aid and Second Language Learning (SLL) assessment tool for young children who were Spanish-speaking English Learners.

2. Benefits of Text to Speech AI

TTS technology is extremely beneficial for those with disabilities, whether that be visually impaired or individuals with learning differences. TTS can be the key to improving the educational experience. Substantial research has demonstrated that by hearing text out loud and seeing the text simultaneously, it improves comprehension and information recall. Using a multi-sensory teaching method is sure to improve the learning experience for students. Students with reading difficulties or learning disabilities often find it easier to process information by listening to it. TTS gives students access to content in a different format, whether that be simply listening or listening while following along. This can result in increased motivation and improvements in attitude towards learning. TTS can also help those on the opposite end of the spectrum by challenging advanced students with higher level reading material. By listening to an article or book, college students and professionals can focus on other tasks while they are listening. A student may also use TTS to listen to a lecture so that they can focus on the meaning of the words and comprehend the information. This is also time efficient for those taking public transportation. TTS can be very useful in the language learning process. Learners can listen to a native speaker and then practice imitating the pronunciation to strive for accent perfection. This can be done individually or as a classroom activity. TTS is crucial for the 1 in 5 people who have dyslexia. Reading for those with dyslexia can be very difficult, and TTS can give them the option to have words highlighted as they are being read to improve word recognition and tracking. Dyslexic individuals can listen without having to worry about reading and not understanding. TTS software has proven to be the most effective, comprehensive, and highly accessible method for making the written word accessible to those with visual impairments or learning disabilities who have trouble reading.

3. Applications of Text to Speech AI

Entertainment: This is a growing field for TTS. The idea of a machine with human-like voice and intonation has been interesting to science fiction fans for decades. Robotic TTS first started to make an appearance in the form of various computer games and simulations. These ranged from text-based dungeon games like Zork, where the computer would read aloud the room descriptions, to simulated conversation with Eliza. Later, TTS evolved to actual robotic machines and toys with TTS capabilities. These range anywhere from Furby toys to the advanced talking robots used in exhibits at science museums. Currently, TTS has been finding many uses in the online gaming world. With the growing trend of MMORPGs, various players have developed TTS engines to allow their characters to speak the text typed into the game by others. The idea of synthetic narrators for games, stories, and tutorials is another aspect of TTS which has great potential. Finally, there is the huge industry of audiobooks and the fans of literature with visual impairments. These people can greatly benefit from TTS. High-quality, human-like voice is vital for the success of TTS in the entertainment industry.

Communication: TTS can allow smooth communication for the disabled. There are many people out there who have some type of physical disability, whether it is a temporary ailment, permanent injury, or a genetic or degenerative condition. These people can include victims of serious car crashes, stroke victims, war veterans, amputees, people with arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s, Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, and many others. For those who have lost the use of their hands or the ability to speak, TTS is a vital communication tool. There are devices where the user can type lines of text into the machine, which will then be spoken aloud. A good TTS engine is a much more reliable and efficient means of generating speech than recording a person’s voice.

4. Challenges and Limitations

TTS systems are more expensive in terms of time and money compared to speech recognition or synthesis systems. Because it is difficult to connect the latest TTS systems with other technologies and there is still resistance to changing from visual display of text to speech output, funding for TTS development has proven difficult to come by in industries like telecommunications, which should be a large-scale TTS user. Computer-based language learning is a large potential emerging domain for TTS, but thus far the lack of a natural and expressive TTS has hindered its progress.

Building a TTS system and evaluating its speech quality is time-consuming, something which is not abundant in today’s fast-moving IT industry. High-quality TTS has defined success and failure largely in terms of subjective human perception and preference, which requires much more extensive testing than simple evaluation against text or phonemic transcription processing.

Discreteness in linguistic knowledge and scarcity of phonemic transcription for many languages, the gap between linguistic knowledge and phonemic representation may be too wide to overcome with TTS technology in the foreseeable future. Also, a big issue for this technology is to maintain a balance between flexibility and control. Most TTS systems need minute, sometimes language-specific modifications to control prosodic, pronunciation, and other text processing components. In contrast, the field of multilingual and large domain TTS requires sharing of components across a wide variety of languages and text processing requirements.

Challenges and limitations are part and parcel of any technology. Unless they are accomplished, success is not considered achieved. The same is the case with Text to Speech, as it is evolving from simple speech models to complex systems handling various languages and dialects. Due to this, it is quite difficult for TTS systems to interact with other software in a uniform way.

5. Conclusion

The future of TTS AI also looks promising for those with visual disabilities. In the past, these people often had to rely on friends and family to read them their study material or use cumbersome screen reader programs. A more modern alternative to this is the use of paid reading services for converting written text to audio. While useful, this is obviously an ongoing expense and the quality of the audio is dependent on the skill of the reader. Free TTS AI software would ideally remove these issues and improve the quality of life for these people.

Considering this, it’s easy to see how TTS AI could become a very important tool for learners and teachers in the future. This is because it takes away something that has proven to be a great obstacle in education: the visual requirement. By allowing people to listen to information while doing other tasks, it is a great time saver over traditional learning methods. In order to illustrate this, let’s consider the example of a student with good comprehension but poor reading skills. In the past, this student would have been forced to devote many extra hours to his studies than his peers. This is because he would have had to reread the material many times to achieve the same understanding. However, with TTS AI, the same student can now listen to the material and the reading difficulty is no longer an issue.