Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and systems for generating synthesized speech from detected speech articulator movement and to methods and systems for generating models for generating synthesized speech from detected articulator movement.

Abstract: A speech synthesizer and a method for synthesizing speech are disclosed. The synthesizer has an output stage for converting a phonetic description to an acoustic output. The output stage includes a database of recorded utterance segments. The output stage operates: a. to convert the phonetic description to a plurality of time-varying parameters; and b. to interpret the parameters as a key for accessing the database to identify an utterance segment in the database. The output stage then outputs the identified utterance segment. The output stage further comprises an output waveform synthesizer that can generate an output signal from the parameters. Therefore, in the event that the parameters describe an utterance segment for which there is no corresponding recording in the database, the parameters are passed to the output waveform synthesizer to generate an output signal.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method and apparatus for providing signals for a synthetic voice by way of derived voice-representative data. In embodiments of the invention, the derived data is derived by combination of data representative of first and second (and maybe more) voices of a base repertoire, the combined data including selected parameters of a formant-type voice synthesiser. Combination may take place by interpolation between or extrapolation beyond the voices of the base repertoire. Individual parameters within the derived data may contain different proportions of corresponding parameters of the base repertoire. The invention is applicable either directly to control parameters of a synthesiser or to tables for these parameters.

Abstract: A human-machine interface apparatus for providing an output from a computer. The human-machine interface apparatus comprises a three-dimensional form shaped to represent a communications agent, the three-dimensional form having a display surface, an input interface for accepting image data from a computer, a display apparatus for displaying an image with which a user can engage on the display surface corresponding to the input image data, an input apparatus for receiving non-manual inputs from a user who is engaging with an image on the display apparatus, and an output interface for providing to a computer data derived from inputs received by the input apparatus.