ATU605 – Voiceitt with Dr. Rachel Levy, SLP

Hi, this is Dr. Rachel Levy and I’m a speech language pathologist and the customer success manager at Voiceitt. And this is your Assistive Technology Update.

Hello and welcome to your Assistive Technology Update, a weekly dose of information that keeps you up to date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist individuals with disabilities and special needs. I’m your host, Josh Anderson with the INDATA Project at Easterseals Crossroads in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana. Welcome to episode 605 of Assistive Technology Update. It is scheduled to be released on December 30th, 2022 on today’s show, we’re super excited to welcome Dr. Rachel Levy on. She’s going to tell us all about Voiceitt and the great things it can do. We wish you all a very happy New Year and let’s go ahead and get on with the show.

Listeners, our guest today is from Voiceitt. Now, Voiceitt was on the show back in 2017 while I was just an avid listener to AT Update and not the host, producer, et cetera. Well, a lot of stuff has changed since 2017 and it turns out that things have changed at Voiceitt as well. So please join me in welcoming Dr. Rachel Levy from Voiceitt, to the show. Dr. Levy.

Hi.

Welcome.

Thank you. So excited to be here.

And I am really excited to talk about Voiceitt and all the great things that you guys are doing. But before we get into that, could you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself?

Sure. I’m a practicing speech language pathologist for about 15 years and recently completed my doctorate in speech language pathology, clinical doctorate and joined the Voiceitt team in August of 2022.

Awesome. Well good to hear. We’re so glad that you joined the team and even more glad that you took time out of your day to talk to us. So let’s go ahead and get on to Voiceitt. So for our listeners who either don’t remember the show in 2017 or maybe haven’t had a chance to listen to it, what is Voiceitt and why was it started?

It’s voice technology that will allow individuals with impaired speech to access that voice technology. So once it has come to the field to make voice technology accessible to everyone and whereas a typical AAC, or assistive technology, currently serves people who are non-verbal or have very minimal speech ability, there’s really nothing on the market that allows individuals with speech impairments or atypical speech patterns or unsupported languages or dialects to access voice technology. And so Voiceitt is here to change that and really fill a need and a gap for individuals who consider themselves verbal speakers.

So I love that Voiceitt is working on that. Now, how is it able to understand non-standard speech?

That’s a great question. We actually have a proprietary algorithm which essentially learns the individual patterns of a person’s speech. So they do need to train our algorithm to understand them and it then essentially learns to be what would, in human terms, a familiar listener. So we know that these individuals generally have no problem being understood by their familiar listeners, by their caretakers, their family members. They generally have problems when they speak with unfamiliar listeners. And Voiceitt essentially becomes the familiar listener as they continue to train our program.

And when you say train, what does that process look like? How do I train Voiceitt to understand me and really be able to get out what I’m trying to say?

Sure. We have a training portion of our website, which is our web app, which is spontaneous continuous speech recognition. And the training that’s required essentially is a phrase pops up on the screen. So the phrase is no more than six words and then the individual can either listen to it if they have trouble reading or have a visual impairment or a reading impairment, they can click the listen button so they can listen to it and then they will then click the record button and essentially read or repeat the phrase that was given to them. And it goes on like that for some time. We require that individuals record about a thousand phrases before having access to the tool. However, the more training that’s done, the better the recognition becomes. And while people may shy away from a thousand phrases, it’s really not that much. It just seems like a lot when you say a thousand. But it really goes by pretty quickly.

Cool. So as we talk about the people that could kind of benefit from this, who all could benefit from using Voiceitt?

Our new technology, which is a web app, essentially is accessible on any device that can open a web browser. For individuals who would like to use this technology, we ask that their language is intact, that they say what they intend to, that their pronunciation is consistent. So even though their speech may be impaired, their errors are generally consistent and that they’re generally misunderstood or not understood by smart home systems or smart assistance and things of that sort. And then on the severity end of things, they still must be understood by familiar listeners, such as family and care caregivers, but are generally not understood by strangers or unfamiliar listeners and that they are socially motivated and interested in using new technology. Currently, we’re onboarding individuals who are 13 and up, but within a week or two we’re going to open up the beta to individuals who are under 13. So that could really change the face of academics for kids who have speech impairments.

Oh, definitely. And I’m sure that can really help. I’ve known kids who have had to work with a speech language pathologist in school and maybe even just working with technology can make it a little bit easier than always having the one-on-one with people. Not to ever take the speech language pathologist out of that. I’m definitely not saying that and definitely not to you. But I mean sometimes I know that can be a little bit more fun, especially for younger folks to actually have the technology to be able to use.

Sure. And I’m glad you actually mentioned the role of the SLP and our technology, by no means will replace an SLP ever. We really do need SLPs to partner with us to allow our users to feel comfortable using these tools. You can’t just create this amazing technology and say, “Here people, use it.” You always need a knowledgeable therapist, a speech language pathologist in my opinion, I mean I’m biased, to allow those individual users to feel comfortable to know how to use these tools the best way possible so that they’ll get the best end results and then want to use it, right?

Oh, definitely. Want to use it and just be able to communicate better.

Sure, sure. Yeah. That goes without saying, meaning of course, we know that it’s going to make them communicate better. But it’s not always the case where you give someone a tool and say, “Here, this is going to help you communicate better.” And then they don’t really know how to use it to them communicate better. So that’s really where the speech language pathologist comes in, in my opinion, which it will help the individual user to feel comfortable and knowledgeable enough to use the tool for communication purposes.

And like you said, that is completely and totally important. Pretty much everything assistive technology. If you don’t know how to use it or you’re not comfortable with it becomes usually expensive paperweights or just doesn’t get used and abandoned pretty quickly. And it can be frustrating. Technology’s frustrating, that’s not lie, especially if you don’t know how to use it. So if you’ve already had the kind of world not being able to understand you when you’re trying to talk, putting one more frustration on top of that can definitely not be good. So I’m really glad you talked about the importance of working with the SLPs and making sure that they’re involved in that whole process. So that’s awesome. I want to go back to something you kind of said just a minute ago and touched on, get a little bit deeper. You talked a little bit about smart homes and I know a lot of people probably are thinking about that. How does Voiceitt integrate with smart homes and things?

Sure, sure. So I also want to take a little bit of a backtrack, if that’s okay?

Yeah, most definitely.

So Voiceitt essentially has two technologies, two products, two very different products. One is the iOS app, which most people are familiar with that’s publicly available on the iOS App Store for free. And that technology is what we call a discreet technology. And we call it discreet because you need to train every phrase that you’d like to use. And it serves two functions. One is for interpersonal communication and the other is for smart home control. So the integration with smart home for this iOS app is a seamless integration with Alexa servers. So essentially, an individual who sets up their app, connect it to their Alexa and then trains the phrase, turn on the lights, they can have instant gratification, so to speak, where they only need to train one phrase and it already understands what they want. And if it’s connected properly to their smart home, then they can already begin to use it pretty much instantly.

And then the other technology, which is the spontaneous continuous speech recognition, that’s a different product essentially. So when you asked me who’s the ideal Voiceitt user, I was talking about the web app.

Gotcha. Okay.

Yeah, I’m glad that you know asked that question because I really think it’s important to really start off with this information so that we know what we’re talking about and our listeners also understand what we’re talking about. So with regard to the web app, which is a different product, the web app essentially is this spontaneous speech recognition, which requires a thousand phrases to be trained prior to having access to the tool. And this tool is accessible on any device that can open a web browser. So it’s not limited to the iOS environment. For this technology, you can use it to control your environment. However, it won’t go through the servers like our iOS device. It’ll go through the more traditional route of speech to input of the device that you’re speaking to. So if I’m speaking to Google, then I will say, “Hey Google, turn on the lights,” and then my web app will repeat what I’ve said in an automated voice and then communicate that through the output of my device to the input or microphone of the device that I’m speaking with.

Okay, thank you so much for clarifying that because I wasn’t sure if it was different things, if it was all kind of in one. But no, that makes complete and total sense. So the iOS app kind of has the integration whereas the web-based is able to take what I say and turn that into those commands in order to wake my virtual assistant or whatever they’re calling them these days.

Sure, sure. And the web app does even more than that because the web app will essentially convert my spontaneous utterances into text on the screen, which I can then share in an email or social media or text message. And I will be able to also have that text that’s on the screen be played aloud if I’d like to. Another really cool integration that the web app has is a Zoom and Microsoft Teams integration for live transcription of video calls so that individuals with speech impairments can now participate in video calls with live transcriptions of their speech, which can definitely really, really help with vocational rehabilitation and people who are entering the workforce and trying to be a part of company meetings and are relatively misunderstood or not understood, they can now have access to that.

Oh, that makes a huge difference just because I know, and I’ve worked with folks who’ve used AAC kind of devices and try to be on Zoom meetings, but you’re just so limited in what you end up and what you can really say and even getting the, I don’t know, the microphone up to the speaker correctly to where there’s enough sound. So that’s great. So I can speak in my own voice and then have that kind of brought through so that others on the call can understand. That’s excellent. You said that works in Teams and Zoom as well?

It works in Teams and Zooms and we are currently working on a WebEx integration as well, which is forthcoming.

So what are some of the other differences between the two apps?

Sure. So I think both our technologies really serve the gamut of individuals with speech impairment. So essentially the iOS app requires really any kind of speech. So even the most severe to profound speech impairment can be handled by our iOS app as well as people with maybe minimal language as well, or those who find speech quite laborious who want to speak in one word utterances, our iOS app can extend their speech. So essentially, they can say the word burger, but we can program the app to output, “I’d like a burger with cheese and pickles but no ketchup please.” Right? So it can say all of that with just the individual’s outputting essentially with their voice, the word burger. And it can be extremely impaired. I mean it doesn’t have to sound obviously close to standard at all. So the app could really handle all of that and can extend an individual’s speech.

Whereas the web app requires a bit more fluent speech, fluent language even if the pronunciation and the articulation is impaired. So the web app does require the person to be understood by familiar listeners, whereas the iOS app doesn’t because they can essentially say the word burger the way that they say burger and nobody really has to understand them. They just need to say that burger the way they say it consistently for the Voiceitt app to understand them.

Nice. I’m going to go ahead and jump onto my next question. What else is next for Voiceitt?

That’s a great question. So currently, Voiceitt does speech to text. We’re not a language correction device or we’re not a Word document or so to speak. We don’t really do word processing. But down the line, I think there’s going to be some changes in that in terms of allowing other apps such as Grammarly and other integrations which will allow for changes in language so that we can also predict what people will say and have them choose the correct prediction. We know that technology’s not perfect.

And like you said before, I want to touch on what you’ve said before, that technology can be very frustrating and part of the reason it can be frustrating is because it just doesn’t do what you want it to do. I want it to do this but it’s not doing it. So I admit we technology’s not 100% perfect, but it is great and it does a wonderful job at transcribing non-standard speech. But it isn’t perfect. And so we’re always thinking of ways to make our technology better. And if that means bringing in other technologies to help enhance our speech to text function and that’s something we’re definitely working on.

And the other thing, the next thing that’s going to be coming up is PC control with voice. So for people with dexterity issues, physical limitations, that can really open up a whole world of accessibility features for them.

Oh gosh, yeah. I didn’t even think about going that far. Because you mentioned dictation where I can make my emails and correspondence and things as well as actually just being able to converse with folks. But I didn’t even think about that because so many times the non-standard speech kind of runs along with a mobility impairment also. So yeah, if I would actually be able to control my computer by voice even without, that’s always one of the biggest frustrations is I have to not just remember what the commands are but then say them pretty much perfectly, or you’re back to that frustration of the computer not understanding what you’re saying. So that’ll be great and that’ll really open the door for a lot of folks.

Sure. And just to touch upon that, hands free is just a really big thing right now. I was just at ASHA, at the American Speech and Hearing Association conference, and I met with a bunch of different other companies, AAC companies, and everyone was so intrigued by our wake word. Okay, so what is this wake word? Essentially in our iOS app, our app is completely hands free. So when we want to tell our app to wake up, we have our own wake word, it’s Youbi. We say, “Hey Youbi,” and now the app is listening and it’s allowing me to say the command. So now that it’s listening, “I can say turn on the lights,” or “Hey, how are you?” Or, “My name is Rachel.” Whatever it is that I’ve already trained within the app.

And many companies, AAC companies, other technology companies have said, “Wow, how cool would it be if we can integrate our own kind of wake word for individuals to be able to wake up their device and save on battery life and essentially have this device so customized to this individual’s speech that it only listens to them. And essentially, that’s what we do. We’ve customized our technology so that it only listens to that individual speech. Because if I trained my iOS Voiceitt app to listen to me saying, “Hey Youbi,” then you Josh, when you try to wake up my device with “Hey Youbi,” it won’t listen to you. It’ll only listen to me because it only knows me.

Nice, nice. And that’s so much further than a lot of things are. Usually it’s just whatever voice kind of says it. So I love that you’re building that in and that makes a huge difference on so many or it can make a huge difference on so many different devices. Dr. Levy, we’ve got a little bit of time left and I want to make sure that I definitely kind of get this in there. But can you tell me a story about someone’s experience using Voiceitt and kind of how it made a change in their life?

Sure. So I’m going to talk about Claire Malone. She is a physicist, an incredible individual. She happens to have been born with cerebral palsy and her speech is impaired. She is mobile through a wheelchair. She has several accessibility features built into her home, her computer, her wheelchair, and she actually has a TED Talk. You can look her up. She’s amazing. And she came to us because she wants to write a sci-fi novel and she does have an assistant, she has a human assistant who writes much of her, of what she does for her work as a physicist and an accessibility consultant.

But she really wants to write this sci-fi novel. And her assistant works only a certain number of hours a day and she wants to write her novel when inspiration strikes. And so she’s one of our beta testers for this web app which we’re seeking, we’re currently actively seeking beta testers for. So I’m just going to plug Voiceitt.com, www.Voiceitt.com. If you’re interested or you know someone who might be interested in joining our web app beta, please send them that way. But back to Claire. She’s now trained her web app and is using the web app to write her to novel. And she said to me, “Voiceitt works on Saturday nights and never gets COVID.”

So she loves it. She really gets to use our technology to further her goals as a professional writer. And she has her whole system in place to be able to copy the text into word processing and she then processes it and adds… She says she does this hybrid. She has this hybrid means of writing this novel in which she uses Voiceitt for 70% of it, and she hand types about 30% of it. So she has this kind of routine going with how she’s writing this novel and I’m just so stoked for her and excited for her because it’s working awesomely and I can’t wait to read this novel, which is 70% written, with Voiceitt technology.

Oh, that’s great. And you brought up just a great point there in the story too, is just that independence thing. Because yes, while there is, having an assistant’s amazing and that’s really great. But yeah, when inspiration strikes at two o’clock in the morning, that assistant will not be your assistant long if you’re calling them to have them help you at those times. So that’s absolutely awesome and something that you know wouldn’t really think of right away as far as things to do. I’m sure even when the technology was kind of made and even testing kind of started, one of the funnest things I think is finding the different ways that people use your technology to kind of better their lives.

Sure, sure. It’s so inspiring for me. I get to meet these amazing individuals who are just making their way in the world and I get to see them, really, really see them for who they are. And just a constant refrain that I get from the individuals that I work with. They always say that oftentimes other people don’t really see them and they see their wheelchair or they see a disability, but they don’t really see who they really are and what their potential is. So I’m excited that Voiceitt really gets to be a part of bringing out that potential and giving back some independence.

Most definitely. Now, you mentioned it just a moment ago, but I want to make sure that we definitely get it down in the show notes. Could you give us the website again for the beta test and for more information?

Sure. For more information, go to www.Voiceitt.com. You’ll have all the information there and directions to join the beta. You can also feel free to contact us through that website. It may often be me responding to you on that support email. But be sure that we are listening and we want to help and we want to support our users as well as supporting those who are supporting our users. So please reach out to us and we are happy to help in any which way we can.

Awesome. We’ll put a link to that down in the show notes too, just so folks can easily find that and become a part of it. Well, Dr. Rachel Levy, thank you so much for coming on today, telling us all the great things about Voiceitt and just all the great things it can do and all the great things that’ll be coming down the pipeline in the future.

Cool. Thank you so much, Josh. I was exciting to be here and thank you all for listening.

Do you have a question about assistive technology? Do you have a suggestion for someone we should interview on an Assistive Technology Update? If so, call our listener line at (317) 721-7124. Send us an email at tech@eastersealscrossroads.org, or shoot us a note on Twitter, @InDataProject. Our captions and transcripts for the show are sponsored by the Indiana Telephone Relay Access Corporation, or InTRAC. You can find out more about InTRAC at relayindiana.com.

A special thanks to Nicole Prieto for scheduling our amazing guests and making a mess of my schedule. Today’s show was produced, produced, edited, hosted, and fraught over by yours truly. The opinions expressed by our guest are their own and may or may not reflect those of the In Data Project, Easterseals Crossroads, our supporting partners or this host. This was your Assistive Technology Update, and I’m Josh Anderson with the In Data Project at Easterseals Crossroads in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana. We look forward to seeing you next time. Bye-bye.