The Speech Accessibility Project is partnering with Gallaudet University to literally include deaf voices in its work to improve the accessibility of speech recognition technology. Read Gallaudet's announcement.

Some people use their voices to control tech, from cell phones and remote controls to home appliances and in transportation. Voice command capabilities are made possible through training AI and machine learning. The Speech Accessibility Project is creating datasets of more diverse speech patterns, which will in turn be used to train speech recognition technologies to work more accurately and correctly, regardless of how one speaks. 

As a bilingual university proud to be a home to deaf and hard of hearing people who communicate in a variety of ways, Gallaudet’s contribution to the Speech Accessibility Project can have profound impacts on the future of voice recognition accessibility. 

“Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals who use spoken language may have unique speech characteristics due to reduced auditory feedback. When speech systems recognize DHH users accurately, it affirms their communication preferences and reduces stigma around ‘non-standard’ speech,” says Dr. Raja Kushalnagar, Principal Investigator of Gallaudet’s subaward.