Lip reading mobile could silence noisy commuters

Posted on 5 Mar 2010 at 15:53

BBC News has reported on a technology that reads lips, allowing users to voice words soundlessly and have them translated into audio by the device. Such a device would be a godsend to commuters who could then travel in peace and quiet, unbothered by other's conversations, but there are far more serious applications. For example, some speech loss could be countered by such a device, and the military and intelligence communities would no doubt be interested for use in covert operations.

At present the technology is a prototype stage and requires nine electrodes to be stuck to the subjects face. "These capture the electrical potentials that result from you moving your articulatory muscles, those are the muscles that you need in order to produce speech." Said Professor Schultz to BBC News, "We know this is not appealing for mass market use at the moment." She admitted.

Another possible use is to form the basis of an automated language translation system, so that you would speak in one language, but another would be broadcast from a speaker. Imagine going on holiday and being able to speak to anyone you meet via your mobile.

It's certainly is an intriguing idea, and the team hope that the technology can be simmed down to fit into a mobile phone. Despite this, we'd imagine the electrodes would have to go, or be minimised, before it would catch on.

Author: Seth Barton

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

< Previous News : Mobile phones Next >

Be the first to comment on this article

You need to Login or Register to comment.