This just in..
Lip-reading cellphone silences loudmouths
19:00 03 April 02
(From New Scientist Print Edition)
The world's first lip-reading mobile is being developed by researchers
at Japanese cellphone maker NTT DoCoMo.
Although still some way off, the phone should put an end to users having
to shout down their handsets, even in noisy environments. All they have
to do is mouth their words silently, and the phone will convert them to
speech or text.
DoCoMo's early prototype works out which words are being said by using a
contact sensor near the phone's mouthpiece to detect tiny electrical
signals sent by muscles around the user's mouth. The signals are then
converted into spoken words by a speech synthesiser, or into text for a
text message or email.
DoCoMo reckons that avoiding the need to tap out emails on a tiny keypad
could be a significant bonus when future 3G networks arrive.
Cellphone etiquette
Engineers are still developing the lip-reading software for the project.
They say a test model can now recognise vowels with what they call an
acceptable error rate, and are now working on the tougher task of
recognising consonants. Lip-reading accuracy, they say, could also be
boosted using the tiny cameras that will be common on 3G phones.
The spur to developing such a phone, says DoCoMo, was ridding public
places of noise. In Japan, mobiles are already banned on some public
transport networks, and in many other places etiquette requires that
people using a phone have to hold a hand discreetly over their mouth.
The technology is also expected to help people who have permanently lost
their voice, says DoCoMo, which plans to make it available in about five
years' time.
Received on Thu Apr 4 19:23:58 2002