Tech Firms Train Voice Assistants to Understand Atypical Speech

By Katie Deighton

Technology companies are working to make their voice assistants accessible to people who struggle with speaking, including those with conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurodegenerative disease.

In December, Amazon.com Inc. announced an Alexa integration with Voiceitt, a startup that lets people with speech impairments train an algorithm to recognize their own unique vocal patterns. Apple Inc. is researching how to automatically detect a stutter, while Google's Project Euphonia initiative is testing an app that lets people with atypical speech communicate with Google Assistant.

Alphabet Inc.'s Google is also compiling an audio bank of atypical speech that it hopes will help bring its standard voice assistant closer to full accessibility.

Write to Katie Deighton at katie.deighton@wsj.com; @DollyDeighton

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2021 05:27 ET (10:27 GMT)

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