STTR Phase I: Providing Access to Science and Math for Disabled Students Using MathSpeak

STTR 第一阶段：使用 MathSpeak 为残疾学生提供接触科学和数学的机会

• 批准号: 0712199
• 负责人: David Schleppenbach
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: GH, LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-07-01 至 2008-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0712199&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Providing; Access; Science

This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I research project investigates the improvement of the quality of the synthetic speech rendering generated by the conversion mechanism and to subsequently demonstrate Phase II commercialization feasibility via efficacy tests with targeted consumer groups. The first objective will be to remove distortions and mechanical sounding expressions. Observations suggest that the distortions arise from the lack of logical insertion of pauses (i.e., based on a model of real speech) between elements in the synthetic speech stream. This objective will be accomplished by developing an algorithm based on recordings of math educators speaking mathematical expressions that will be incorporated into the synthetic speech conversion mechanism. The second objective will involve efficacy testing for the reduction of distortions and mechanical sounding expressions. Distortion reduction testing will require participants to listen expressions and to exactly (verbatim) report the expressions they heard. The third objective will involve an efficacy test to test the capacity of the pause algorithm to enhance disambiguation.Broader impacts include the following: an overriding goal is to increase the accessibility to science, technology, engineering, and mathematical fields by under-represented groups. This goal is consistent with the objectives of the NSF and the Department of Educations incentive to further develop and implement the National Instructional Accessibility Standard (NIMAS), which would facilitate an increase in accessibility via the development of flexible alternatives to print as a primary objective. Additionally, the project advances discovery and understanding not only of the specifics aspects of the wording of spoken language that contribute to misinterpretations but also investigates the more subtle nuances of the non-verbal information such as the intervals between word and their influences on accurate acquisition of information. These findings have educational implications for the optimization of learning strategies and models for teaching and training. Further, the basic protocol for algorithm development has potential paradigmatic significance for development and improvement of synthetic speech across multiple fields that synthetic speech such as artificial intelligence, augmentative and alternative communication, and computer and communication sciences.

该小型企业技术转移研究 (STTR) 第一阶段研究项目研究了转换机制生成的合成语音渲染质量的提高，并随后通过针对目标消费群体的功效测试来证明第二阶段商业化的可行性。第一个目标是消除失真和机械的发声表达。观察表明，失真是由于合成语音流中的元素之间缺乏逻辑插入的停顿（即基于真实语音的模型）而引起的。这一目标将通过开发一种基于数学教育者讲数学表达式的录音的算法来实现，该算法将被纳入合成语音转换机制中。第二个目标将涉及减少失真和机械发声表达的功效测试。失真减少测试将要求参与者聆听表情并准确（逐字）报告他们听到的表情​​。第三个目标将涉及功效测试，以测试暂停算法增强歧义消除的能力。更广泛的影响包括以下内容：首要目标是增加代表性不足的群体对科学、技术、工程和数学领域的可及性。这一目标与 NSF 和教育部进一步制定和实施国家教学无障碍标准 (NIMAS) 的激励目标一致，该标准将通过开发灵活的印刷替代品作为主要目标，促进无障碍性的提高。此外，该项目不仅促进了对口语措辞中导致误解的具体方面的发现和理解，而且还研究了非语言信息的更微妙的细微差别，例如单词之间的间隔及其对准确获取信息的影响。这些发现对于优化学习策略以及教学和培训模式具有教育意义。此外，算法开发的基本协议对于人工智能、增强和替代通信、计算机和通信科学等多个合成语音领域的合成语音的开发和改进具有潜在的范式意义。