Patents by Inventor Michael Erkkinen

Michael Erkkinen has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Methods and apparatus for reducing stuttering
    Patent number: 11727949
    Abstract: A feedback system may play back, to a user, an altered version of the user's voice in real time, in order to reduce stuttering by the user. The system may operate in different feedback modes at different times. For instance, the system may detect when the severity of a user's stuttering increases, which is indicative of the user habituating to the current feedback mode. The system may then switch to a different feedback mode. In some cases, the feedback modes include at least a Whisper mode, a Reverb mode, and a Harmony mode. In Whisper mode, the user's voice may be transformed to sound as if it were whispering in the user's ears. In Harmony mode, the user's voice may be altered as if the user were harmonizing with himself or herself. In Reverb mode, the user's voice may be altered so that it reverberates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Rebecca Kleinberger, Michael Erkkinen, George Stefanakis, Akito van Troyer, Satrajit Ghosh, Janet Baker, Tod Machover
  • Methods and Apparatus for Reducing Stuttering
    Publication number: 20210050029
    Abstract: A feedback system may play back, to a user, an altered version of the user's voice in real time, in order to reduce stuttering by the user. The system may operate in different feedback modes at different times. For instance, the system may detect when the severity of a user's stuttering increases, which is indicative of the user habituating to the current feedback mode. The system may then switch to a different feedback mode. In some cases, the feedback modes include at least a Whisper mode, a Reverb mode, and a Harmony mode. In Whisper mode, the user's voice may be transformed to sound as if it were whispering in the user's ears. In Harmony mode, the user's voice may be altered as if the user were harmonizing with himself or herself. In Reverb mode, the user's voice may be altered so that it reverberates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2020
    Publication date: February 18, 2021
    Inventors: Rebecca Kleinberger, Michael Erkkinen, George Stefanakis, Akito van Troyer, Satrajit Ghosh, Janet Baker, Tod Machover