The History of Video Voice

Video Voice has a more than 25 year history. It got its start back in 1984, when a team of scientists, one of whom was hearing-impaired, began looking for a way to illustrate speech. The chemistry professor, who had been deaf since birth, decided as a child that he wanted to be a scientist, and understood that he’d need to be able to speak to be successful in that career. So he regularly attended speech therapy and diligently practiced at home between sessions, but was often frustrated to find he’d been practicing the wrong sound. So he and colleagues - an electronic engineer and a software designer - set about creating an electronic device that would illustrate sounds as they were produced. Their design was based on the vowel representation scheme from Grant Fairbanks’ Voice and Articulation Drill Book (©1954), and they  were granted a patent for both the hardware and software.

The first version of Video Voice was based on a small microcomputer called the Interact. Most people haven’t heard of it, but it was one of the first personal computers on the market. It was released about the time of the Radio Shack TRS80. The graphics capabilities were modest, with only a 112x77 pixel resolution (!!) and a total of 8 colors, but it had a built-in analog-to-digital converter, an important capability since speech is analog by nature. The earliest Video Voice models included that computer and an external device called the Speech Analyzer (or "black box") that converted the voice data to digital form as it was sampled.

The inventors’ prototype provided feedback that was pretty meager, nothing more than a few dots on the screen that showed the basic location of a vowel sound. That didn’t seem like it would be interesting for long, so we set about fleshing out the display and software to turn it into a tool that would be motivating - adding color, a model and trial structure, on-screen vowel display, and much more.

As computers gained popularity in schools, therapists started asking for a version that would operate on Apple II/IIgs computers, so we converted the software to operate on those platforms. Then came the Macintosh, and we produced a Mac-based Video Voice. And then one for the IBM PC, first a DOS-based version, then a Windows-compatible one. (During this time, IBM produced its Speech Viewer program, which became widely known, but is no longer available.)

The external Speech Analyzer was retired with the release of Version 3.0. All voice sampling is done through the computer’s internal sound capabilities, and the analysis with our own specialized software routines. This allowed us to greatly expand Video Voice’s capabilities to increase the frequency ranges of sound sampling and add many new games and displays, at a signficantly lower price,.

Expanded capabilities include much wider pitch range to accommodate low-pitched male voices and high-pitched children’s voices (something the Speech Analyzer versions were limited in). We’ve also been able to increase the formant frequency sampling to illustrate and differentiate high frequency sounds like /s/ and /sh/. (The earlier, hardware-dependent versions could detect the presence or absence of high-frequency sounds, but could not tell the difference between them.)

With faster computers with greater capabilities, we’ve been able to greatly enhance the graphics used in Video Voice. They’re still not as fancy or with Xbox-type resolution, because there’s a lot going on "behind the scenes" in the voice sampling and analysis that takes substantial "compute time." And, after all, the point is to illustrate speech, not to be a realistic action game.

To wit, many years back, some folks designed a software interface that integrated with some video games that were then available which had higher resolution graphics and action. It could be programmed to accept 4 words that would control the action of a game (for purposes of this example - "left," "right," "up," and "down"). The goal was to command virtual game player to move around and avoid being attacked by a monster (again, an example). Unfortunately, what hadn’t been considered was the excitement factor in the sound analysis. Targets that were calmly produced when the game was being initially set up, didn’t achieve the desired motion response when the player got excited during the game action and began shouting the words at the screen. Pitch and volume, after all, do affect sound production! This program quickly faded from the scene.

Version 3.0 is the only Video Voice model now being produced. It operates on most Windows operating systems (Windows 2000 and later), and is not dependent on processor speed. In fact, on really fast computers, we actually have to slow some things down. A two-second model, for example, needs to be two-seconds long, even if the computer is capable of displaying the graphics much faster.

That’s the basic history of Video Voice. Development is ongoing, with new things added all the time, so there will still be future chapters written!

Video Voice Support Team
1-800-537-2182
mv@videovoice.com

Technical Yada-Yada

From time to time, people ask about the technical details of Video Voice. So I asked the programming staff to provide some, and here’s what they had to say.

The heart of the Video Voice software is a specially developed Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) routine packaged in a .dll. It "pumps" the speech data to the various therapy displays and games. The FFT analyzes data obtained from the computer’s sound card and extracts F1, F2, F3, Pitch and Volume data as well as the strength of each frequency in the range of (70-7000 Hz), while simultaneously allowing graphic display and analysis in real-time. The FFT was developed for Version 3.0 and replaces a patented filtering process that required external Speech Analyzer hardware in previous versions of the software. The .dll also contains a set of precision timers that permits timed operations on computers with different internal processor speeds. The ability to use the computer’s sound facilities to record and play back sound files is another capability.

The Video Voice program consists of 270,000+ lines of VB6 programming code organized in more than 5,700 procedures. If printed as a book (called a listing in the old days), it would be over 7,200 pages long. Needless to say, we never print listings any more! In addition to the program code, there are nearly 1,000 built-in picture and sound (.wav) files, and an extensive Help subsystem with more than 150 topics that document program operation and use.

Have your eyes glazed over yet?

So, what does all this mean to Video Voice users? Well, there are 31 different colorful, motivating games and displays with more than 70 different modes of operation that can easily be customized to your personal needs. Most have entertaining graphic animations to reward successful performance. Individuals’ vocal productions are recorded and can be saved as models for repeated use. For most games and displays, performance can be reviewed in a variety of single session and cross-time reports and graphs. Whether your computer is an old workhorse with Windows 2000 or a fancy new one driven by Windows 7, Video Voice will run on it.

The program is fully documented with context-sensitive Help – just click the Help button at any time, and the internal manual will open to the page appropriate for the area where you’re working. There’s also a "Help Me Choose" interactive guide that helps you select appropriate areas for most common speech goals, as well as integrated Demos that use prerecorded audio to simulate operation of the games and displays. Adjustable options and game controls have "tool tips," helpful little hints that pop up to let you know what their basic functions are when you pause your cursor over them. Also integrated are a number of printable PDF supporting materials that suggest activities for work on pitch, volume, articulation and more.

First released in 2006, Version 3.0 is still undergoing development. We continue to find new things to add and ways to enhance what it can do. But more on that later!

Good speech to you,

Video Voice Support Team
1-800-537-2182
mv@videovoice.com

Visual Feedback Enhances Speech Therapy Results

The benefits visual feedback offers to both clincians and individuals receiving speech therapy are unquestionable.  Speech is fleeting and intangible by nature, and challenges in interpreting it can be influenced by a number of things, including hearing loss and other auditory processing deficits.  While production of some sounds can be illustrated fairly easily using our mouths, elements such as pitch and volume are essentially invisible.  Having a way to freeze, view and replay a speech production and its components therefore has great value.

Visual feedback changes the nature of the speech therapy process, giving the student or patient a different sense of control.  After all, it is his voice that's represented and recorded, and he has a new way to understand and learn to modify tongue or other articulator position to change the resulting display.  It's no longer a case of what the therapist says he's doing right or wrong, it's what both people see happening on the screen, and it gives them a different way to discuss it.  As more than one therapist has told us, "They can't argue with me anymore!"

For those who have already had years of speech therapy and are bored with the process, visual feedback brings new life to the activities.   Having different games to play and displays to practice sounds, words and connected speech turns therapy into a fun, exciting adventure to be explored and enjoyed.

Video Voice has many entertaining practice formats that keep therapy recipients motivated and eager to succeed in improving their speech skills.  Many provide live feedback on pitch, volume or sounds, so the speaker gets instant response to changes he makes, helping him find and maintain correct production.  Colorful animations and encouraging messages support the therapist by rewarding good performance. 

There are many reasons to consider visual feedback as an adjunct to speech therapy.  If you're not already exploring the benefits, you're missing out on a tool that can expedite progress with your caseload.  You can give Video Voice a try for free to see for yourself how it can enhance your therapy results.  There's no cost to download and explore what it can do for you.  Just pay a visit to http://www.videovoice.com/!

Video Voice Support Team
1-800-537-2182
mv@videovoice.com