UC-Santa Cruz scientists, led by computer engineer Sri Kurniawan and psychologist Dominic Massaro, plan to use cell phones to deliver low-cost speech therapy to stroke victims in Malaysia. Massaro’s lab has developed a computer program featuring an animated language tutor. The tutor’s “talking head” meticulously demonstrates new words. One feature even lets users peel back the tutor’s skin so they can watch how the tongue hits the palate to form sounds. The tutor, nicknamed Baldi, already has helped autistic and hearing-impaired children learn to talk.
Kurniawan’s team is adapting Baldi to a cell phone screen, and the scientists are programming it to speak Malay. Cell phone networks reach about twice as much of Malaysia as Internet access. The phones will need fairly large screens and the ability to play videos, but most cell phones already have those features, Kurniawan said.
Source: San Jose Mercury News
