Can Artificial Intelligence Give a Voice to Those Without One

Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities have led to exciting breakthroughs in the recovery and handicap sectors. Tech has long played a vital role in helping those with disabilities interact and navigate the world. From hearing aids and close captions for the deaf to audiobooks for the blind, tech remains a great way to provide services to those in need.

AI systems can potentially take many of these concepts to the next level. Already, AI systems make it easy for patients to monitor health, protect records, and schedule appointments when needed. Aside from these tasks, AI continues to improve medical hardware capabilities.

Major Breakthrough

This week marks a major milestone for the AI community. A team of researchers from UCLA, led by Jun Chen,  published a paper in the journal Nature Communications describing a device that‘s designed to help those with damaged vocal cords speak again.

The new system operates by converting electromagnetic muscle movements into text in real-time.  The advanced AI wearable is a non-invasive neck patch that is applied via double-sided medical tape. The unit is only 1.2in x 1.2in and weighs around 7 grams, according to the report. This device features a thin, flexible design meant to remain comfortable even when worn for extended periods.

Major Upgrade

This latest development is huge news for the market for many reasons. For one, the current handheld electro-larynx and tracheoesophageal methods are invasive and can cause discomfort. These devices are cumbersome and provide unrealistic tones that sound robotic at times.

Additionally, these procedures are expensive to conduct and require constant changing of batteries and other items to remain viable. They are also cumbersome devices that draw unwanted attention to people when in use.

Chen and his team want to do away with these bulky devices and introduce an AI-powered patch that can handle the same tasks. Their creation is the smallest and most capable AI-integrated voice assistant tested yet.

How it Works

The science behind how this device operates is truly impressive. From a mechanical perspective, the device can be broken into two layers. The first layer consists of the biocompatible silicone compound polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This stretchy layer is designed to be durable yet flexible.

The second layer integrates copper induction coils to create a magnetic field. These materials form a magnetoelastic sensing mechanism that can detect the smallest magnetic changes nearby. These are the same signals that your brain sends to your muscles to activate them when needed. As such, this tech could find its way into various additional applications that require muscle monitoring.

Interestingly, this process of using magnetic fields to track muscle movements was specifically developed by Chen and his team of engineers in 2021. In his latest application, the embedded magnetic induction coils create hi-fi electrical signals that get picked up and converted into sound.

AI Makes it Possible

The magnetoelastic sensor collects this magnetic field data and provides it to the advanced machine learning AI algorithm that converts it into speech. The process can recognize the tiny electronic pulses that activate your muscle movements. Each movement is associated with certain words which combine to create legible speech.

How the AI was Programmed

To create this highly sensitive AI wearable, the team began testing on a controlled group of eight healthy subjects. Each subject placed the wearable on their neck and was asked to speak a combination of sentences. These sentences included introductions and things like “I love you.”

Each sentence was picked due to its muscle movement, unique characteristics, and sounds. This data was provided to the machine learning algorithm alongside its existing libraries. Together the data created a full scope of muscle movements via magnetic mapping with each movement corresponding to a word.

Notably, the participants were asked to say these phrases out loud, and then silently. This strategy helped researchers to ensure that the device was working correctly. Impressively, the AI system was able to provide 94.68% accuracy during trials. If this success rate can be applied to a commercial application, millions of people will benefit from it.

Research Funded by

This project has a lot of backers supporting their efforts. Specifically, the teams secured funding from the American Heart Association, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Office of Naval Research, and the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. All of these organizations recognize the game-changing potential the tech represents.

Past Projects Chen Created

Chen’s team has created a variety of products designed to help the handicapped population. In one instance, Chen introduced a glove that can translate sign language into speech. The project was a huge success and has already helped make life easier for those with speech impediments.

Voice Disorders on the Rise

This team of researchers isn’t alone in its quest to help those with hearing disabilities. Hearing disorders are on the rise, and around 30% of people will have to deal with this problem at one point in their lives. This latest invention could help speed up recovery times and provide a voice to those who need it most.

Notably, voice disorders, like many ailments, disproportionately affect lower-income and minority communities. One report by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) found that one in every 10 black children between the age of 3-17 has a voice, language, or speech disorder. Access to low-cost AI systems could shed light and help to alleviate this scenario soon.

AI Helps Handicapped Persons Live More Fulfilling Lives

The introduction of accessible AI tools has already helped many handicapped people find solutions to their problems. These solutions haven’t gone unnoticed and today some of the biggest firms in the world have signed on to do their part.

Microsoft has pledged $25M to drive AI integration into accessibility sectors. The funding will go towards a myriad of internal projects and as grants for potential upending technologies. Another major firm that has a hold in the market is Amazon with its Echo Show. This device enables handicapped individuals to use voice controls to interact with daily devices.

Most Common AI Integrations

Examining the market you can see the many different ways in which AI-powered solutions have the potential to make a real difference for millions. Voice-assisted technologies, like Alexa provide low-cost access to in-home AI. Here are some of the other areas that have seen positive developments due to AI integration:

Communication

You already learned how AI can help those with speech impediments and other vocal cord disorders. Notably, similar technologies are already helping people communicate with their family and friends. For example, Google’s AI system, Deepmind, can read lips.

Impressively, the introduction of image recognition protocols like Microsoft’s Seeing AI has made it possible to help those with vision impairments to see again. These AI protocols can be trained to recognize and describe items and scenarios in real-time. Recently, AI systems have developed to the point that they can translate the context of images which could help the blind navigate their communities in the near future.

Comfortable Living

It’s easy to take for granted the ability to conduct daily tasks such as turning on the lights or taking out the trash. For many in the handicapped community, these tasks require a lot of stress and effort. Notably, AI systems like Alexis have the potential to help relieve these issues when paired with smart home appliances.

AI systems make it easier to accomplish tasks from a smartphone. Anyone can turn on lights and appliances, monitor their property, change the thermostat, and more. When paired with an AI wearable, these tasks could be as easy as a whisper.

Accessibility

Handicap accessibility can be enhanced using AI systems. For disabled individuals, accomplishing critical tasks such as going to get groceries, medication, or to work can be challenging. Autonomous vehicles provide multiple solutions to these problems.

Self-driving cars use large AI models to navigate complex environments and interact with their human counterparts. These services can be tailored in the future to help those with disabilities get to their appointments easier. This approach could help to reduce isolation and open the door for a more productive society.

Companionship

Mental handicaps and other disorders can worsen when a person feels lonely. AI systems can help provide companionship for these people when needed most. For example, you can ask Alexa or Siri to tell you a joke, fact, news, or even read a book.

These interactions have improved thanks to advancements in Large Language Model (LLM) AI systems like ChatGPT. Today, these algorithms speak fluently and can hold conversations that are nearly indistinguishable from humans.

Market Movers You Should Know

It’s vital to understand that it’s not only major tech firms driving this innovation. There are a growing number of startups that are integrating AI in unique ways to help solve some of the oldest issues faced by the handicapped community. Their effort continues to reshape the market and open doors of opportunity.

1. HOOBOX Robotics

HOLBOX wants to help millions of paralyzed and disabled people around the world with their latest invention, the Wheelie 7. This AI-powered facial recognition system was built to integrate into existing wheelchairs in under 7 minutes, hence its name. The device allows users to send control prompts to their wheelchairs using only facial expressions.

2. Voiceitt

Voiceitt uses AI machine learning to help people with stuttering problems smooth their speech. The system integrates advanced machine learning to understand the wearer’s speech patterns, voice, and inflections. These data points are used to create an AI library to compare to their speech.

The device can recognize errors and miscommunications in real-time and correct them. For those with speech impediments, which are common following strokes and other medical conditions, this device is making life a million times easier.

Importance of Handicap Data to AI

One of the most commonly overlooked benefits of AI handicap integration is the access to valuable data points. AI requires constant data to provide reliable and accurate results. Sadly, there are lots of groups that until recently, didn’t have any input in AI algorithms. This situation led to biased AI and other issues.

The integration of AI into the handicapped sector brings with it access to a treasure trove of data. This medical data will help to enhance future AI models and create even more helpful devices and applications in the future. Additionally, these libraries could be tokenized and marketed to other firms seeking access to this info which could create more avenues for revenue.

AI Healthcare Market is One to Watch

The AI healthcare market has been on the rise since 2021. Statista researchers project the market to see a compound annual growth rate of 37% until 2030. This growth would take the sector from $11B in 2021 to $188B.

The same data revealed how AI is helping physicians save time and reduce errors. Physicians who used AI systems were able to dedicate more time to each patient and provide better care without raising costs. All of these factors have made AI adoption a growing interest for medical service providers.

AI Speaks for Those Who Can’t

It’s impressive to see how AI continues to reshape the way the world interacts. The integration of AI into handicap products is a move that makes sense across the board and provides value to all parties. As such, you can expect to see more helpful creations powered by AI neural networks in the future. For now, AI has the potential to light a torch of hope for millions of people seeking relief from their limitations.

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