Computer-manipulated speech could lead to quieter public announcements

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margin-right: 9px;">GOOD THINKING</a> </div>  <h1 id="ar_title">Computer-manipulated speech could lead to quieter public announcements</h1> <div class="summary_details_left"> <p>By <a href="/web/20130912133456/http://www.gizmag.com/author/ben-coxworth/" rel="author">Ben Coxworth</a></p> <p><em>September 10, 2013</em></p> </div> <div class="summary_details_right"> <div class="has_comments"><a href="manipulated-speech-announcements#comments">3 Comments</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="article_share_rail"> <div class="as_button"><div class="fb-like" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/manipulated-speech-announcements/29024/" data-send="false" data-layout="box_count" data-show-faces="false"></div><script type="text/javascript">_ga.trackFacebook();</script></div> <div class="as_button"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456/http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="vertical" data-via="gizmag">Tweet</a></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/manipulated-speech-announcements/29024/"></div></div> <div class="as_button"><iframe style="overflow: hidden; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456if_/http://badge.stumbleupon.com/badge/embed/5/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gizmag.com%2Fmanipulated-speech-announcements%2F29024%2F" width="50" height="60" id="iframe-stmblpn-widget-1"></iframe></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="pin-it-button" data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456oe_/http://www.gizmag.com/manipulated-speech-announcements/29024/" data-image="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/manipulatedspeechannouncements.jpg" data-description="Places like airports and train stations aren’t known for their tranquility, and that’s largely because of the constant barrage of loud announcements made over their PA systems. Scientists have now developed a system that may allow those announcements to still be heard, but at a lower volume. "></div></div> <div class="as_button"><script type="IN/Share" data-counter="top"></script></div> <div class="as_button" id="reddit_button_rail"><script type="text/javascript">reddit_newwindow='1'</script></div> <div class="as_button" id="email_a_friend_rail"><span class="email_a_friend">Email</span></div> </div> <div id="hero_box" style="width: 530px;"> <a id="hero_link" href="/web/20130912133456/http://www.gizmag.com/manipulated-speech-announcements/29024/pictures"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456im_/http://images.gizmag.com/hero/manipulatedspeechannouncements.jpg" title="Scientists have developed a method of accentuating only the parts of speech that people re..." width="530" height="297" alt="Scientists have developed a method of accentuating only the parts of speech that people re..."/></a> <div class="pic_caption"> <p>Scientists have developed a method of accentuating only the parts of speech that people really need to hear (Photo: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456/http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=136552856&src=id" target="_blank">Shutterstock</a>) </p> </div> <div class="clear_both"></div> </div> <div class="article_body"> <div id="top_unit"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456js_/http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script> <p>Places like airports and train stations aren’t known for their tranquility, and that’s largely because of the constant barrage of loud announcements made over their PA systems. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh, however, have helped develop a system that may allow those announcements to still be heard, but at a lower volume.</p> <p>According to the researchers, when people are able to understand spoken messages in noisy environments, they’re not necessarily hearing everything that’s being said. Instead they pick up on the components of speech that are the easiest to hear, and deduce what the words and sentences are, based on those.</p> <p>With that in mind, the scientists developed a “mathematical computer program” that synthetically enhances those components, allowing them to stand out more from the background noise. When tested, it was found that spoken messages manipulated by the program could be clearly understood at a volume up to five decibels lower than would otherwise be possible.</p> <p>It has been suggested that the technology could be useful not only for PA systems, but also for devices such as smartphones and navigation systems.</p> <p>Source: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456/http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2013/speech-090913" target="_blank">University of Edinburgh</a></p>    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456js_/http://static.fmpub.net/zone/7980"></script> <div id="bottom_unit"> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456js_/http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script> </div> </div> <span class="title share_bar">Share</span> <div id="article_share_bar" class="dotsontop share_bar"> <div class="as_button fb_as_button"><div class="fb-like" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/manipulated-speech-announcements/29024/" data-send="false" data-layout="box_count" data-show-faces="false"></div><script type="text/javascript">_ga.trackFacebook();</script></div> <div class="as_button"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456/http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="vertical" data-via="gizmag">Tweet</a></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/manipulated-speech-announcements/29024/"></div></div> <div class="as_button"><iframe style="overflow: hidden; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456if_/http://badge.stumbleupon.com/badge/embed/5/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gizmag.com%2Fmanipulated-speech-announcements%2F29024%2F" width="50" height="60" id="iframe-stmblpn-widget-2"></iframe></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="pin-it-button" data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456oe_/http://www.gizmag.com/manipulated-speech-announcements/29024/" data-image="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/manipulatedspeechannouncements.jpg" data-description="Places like airports and train stations aren’t known for their tranquility, and that’s largely because of the constant barrage of loud announcements made over their PA systems. Scientists have now developed a system that may allow those announcements to still be heard, but at a lower volume. "></div></div> <div class="as_button"><script type="IN/Share" data-counter="top"></script></div> <div class="as_button" id="reddit_button_bar"><script type="text/javascript">reddit_newwindow='1'</script></div> <div class="as_button" id="email_a_friend_bar"><span class="email_a_friend">Email</span></div> </div>  <span class="title clear_left" id="author_byline_title">About the Author</span> <div class="dotsontop" id="authorcontainer">  <a href="/web/20130912133456/http://www.gizmag.com/author/ben-coxworth/"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456im_/http://images.gizmag.com/author_profiles/127.jpg" alt="Ben Coxworth" id="bio_pic"/> </a>   An experienced freelance writer, videographer and television producer, Ben's interest in all forms of innovation is particularly fanatical when it comes to human-powered transportation, film-making gear, environmentally-friendly technologies and anything that's designed to go underwater. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, where he spends a lot of time going over the handlebars of his mountain bike, hanging out in off-leash parks, and wishing the Pacific Ocean wasn't so far away.   <a href="/web/20130912133456/http://www.gizmag.com/author/ben-coxworth/">All articles by Ben Coxworth</a> <span id="author_byline_links">    <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130912133456/http://twitter.com/bencoxworth" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-size="large">Follow @bencoxworth</a> </span> <br class="clear_both"> </div>  <div id="tags"> <span class="title">Tags</span> <div class="dotsontop"> <ul> <li>» <a href="/web/20130912133456/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/speech/" rel="tag">Speech</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20130912133456/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/university-of-edinburgh/" rel="tag">University of Edinburgh</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20130912133456/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/voice/" rel="tag">Voice</a></li> </ul> <div class="clear_both"></div> </div> </div> <div id="bing_unit"></div>  <span class="title" id="comments">3 Comments</span> <div class="dotsontop"> <div id="comment-255079" class="a_comment"> <p>Could definitely use something like that in the NYC subway, where announcements are notoriously unintelligible most of the time. Of course, some of that can be blamed on apathetic announcers. </p> <span class="name">Gadgeteer</span><br> <span class="date"> 10th September, 2013 @ 10:21 pm PDT</span> </div> <div id="comment-255172" class="a_comment"> <p>Being hard of hearing I can seldom even understand public announcements. How about a phone app to get them in text? </p> <span class="name">Leif Erik Knutsen</span><br> <span class="date"> 11th September, 2013 @ 05:56 am PDT</span> </div> <div id="comment-255520" class="a_comment"> <p>A wonderful idea, being a 'senior' I am not really able to understand announcement at airports etc, when they blair out I just look for a readout to see what is going on. Anything that lowers the noise level is a good idea as it is always easier to understand what information is not shouted. </p> <span class="name">JSSFB</span><br> <span class="date"> 11th September, 2013 @ 11:32 pm PDT</span> </div> </div> <span class="title">Post a Comment</span> <div class="dotsontop" id="comment_form_div"> <div id="comment_form" data-article="29024"> <div id="comments_login"> <form action="/web/20130912133456/http://www.gizmag.com/index.php" name="login_form" id="login_form" onsubmit="return false;"> <p class="bold">Login with your gizmag account:</p> <p id="login_status"></p> <label for="email">Email</label><input type="text" name="email" id="email" value=""/> <label for="password">Password</label><input type="password" name="password" id="password" value=""/> <input type="submit" value="Log In" class="med"/> <div id="options"> <a href="/web/20130912133456/http://www.gizmag.com/register/">Register here</a><br> <a 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Computer-manipulated speech could lead to quieter public announcements