Voices Unveiled: Breaking Barriers with Speech Accessibility

The YOPN Podcast is proud to present Mark Hasagawa-Johnson and Clarion Mendes as we discuss the Speech Accessibility Project

The Speech Accessibility Project aims to collect diverse speech samples to improve the representation of speech patterns in machine learning models. UIUC researchers will recruit paid volunteers to contribute recorded voice samples, creating a private dataset. This dataset will be used to train machine learning models and enhance their understanding of various speech patterns, starting with American English. By collaborating with multiple groups, the project seeks to accelerate the development of technologies that support communities with diverse speech patterns

Now recruiting!  https://speechaccessibilityproject.beckman.illinois.edu/

The Speech Accessibility Project is now recruiting for participants with Parkinson's and related neurological conditions like MSA, PSP, and post-DBS. U.S. residents over the age of 18 are eligible.

Mark Hasagawa-Johnson is a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has devoted his 30-plus-year career to developing communication tools and technologies and ensuring their accessibility for everyone. His research focuses on automatic speech recognition, and he is the lead researcher of the Speech Accessibility Project, a multi-year initiative that aims to improve voice-recognition technology by collecting audio samples from volunteers with a variety of speech-impacted disabilities. Hasagawa-Johnson earned his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was recently named a Fellow of the International Speech Communication Association.

Clarion Mendes is a speech-language pathologist and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She received her M.A. in speech-language pathology from UIUC and brings 14 years of SLP experience to the Speech Accessibility Project team. Mendes’s rich clinical and teaching portfolio includes health equity, treatment protocols for gender-diverse individuals seeking voice modification, and quality of life improvements for individuals with acquired communication disorders and differences. She is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and is OutCare Health certified.