Innovation: People who can’t speak use Vocalid to find their voice

Next Steps The first seven of Vocalid’s initial 60 subjects received their custom voices in December, and the software is slated for wider release online by yearend. Patel is seeking $1 million to further automate the voice-building process. “Cost and whether insurance is going to cover it will be the big thing,” says Lisa Schoenbrodt, who chairs the speech science department at Loyola University Maryland. Patel says she’s working on bringing the price down to below $1,000, and on pitches to robotics and gaming companies. �Olga Kharif