A new artificial larynx for better-sounding speech

A new type of artificial larynx could mean better-sounding speech for those who've had their larynx removed due to laryngeal cancer or other ailments.

Researchers hope the SmartPalate can work for those without a larynx. The space-time graph pictured below the device corresponds to the tongue-palate contact pattern for the word "been".

Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, have come up with a system that tracks mouth movements to determine what word is being formed and then uses a speech synthesizer to audibly produce the correct word.

"All of the currently available devices produce such bad sound--it either sounds robotic or has a gruff speaking voice," Megan Russell, a Ph.D. candidate at the university, told Technology Review. "We felt the tech was there for an artificial synthesized voice solution."
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Google, Microsoft join Camera Phone Image Quality Initiative

Google and Microsoft have joined a group devoted to creating a way that cell phone buyers can easily comprehend the quality of their camera phones.

The International Imaging Industry Association said the tech titans signed up to help with the third phase of the Camera Phone Image Quality Initiative, in which a variety of companies try to create measurements to capture various test results.

Mobile phones that can take photos are ubiquitous today, but with tiny image sensors and lenses and severe budget constraints, they vary widely in their ability to take good photos. Mostly all that buyers have to go on is a megapixel count, which isn't terribly meaningful when it comes to such small sensors. The International Imaging Industry Association, a consortium whose mission is to make imaging better for consumers, is trying to come up with a better way.
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Sony dishes out customized TX1 for Christmas

Japan Sony Style is offering customers a special edition of the Cyber-shot DSC-TX1 for the year-end festivities. The shooters will be engraved with a variety of patterns and a message of up to 15 letters.

Other than snow flakes, there are also Racing, Heart and Safari patterns to choose from. You can also pick from three colors for your snapper comprising pink, gun-metal gray or silver. So, if you're shopping around for a swanky-looking camera for you recipient, this customized TX1 might be your answer.

Via Engadget

When a dSLR lens and an iPhone meet

The iPhone 3GS has a 3.2-megapixel fixed-lens camera and that seems to satisfy most users, but not Bhautik Joshi. The engineer with ILM Research took apart his Apple handset and retrofitted it with a couple of optical drive lenses, then stuck a few PVC pipes to accommodate his 18-55mm Canon glass.
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Handwriting recognition for 2011 Audi A8

Audi's flagship A8 luxury sedan is the company's technological tour de force, and the company says its 2011 iteration will sport handwriting recognition among its many features.

The feature will be supported in the vehicle's Multi Media Interface, or MMI--effectively the navigation/media unit in the car's console. It allows the user to write the destination in freehand and then use the touch screen to manipulate the directions as necessary.

Read more of "Handwriting recognition for 2011 Audi A8" at ZDNet's The ToyBox.

Via Crave CNET

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