Short description

The electro-larynx (EL) is a hand-held, battery-driven device. It is one possibility to regain speech for people who had to undergo an operation, where the larynx and the containing vocal folds were removed (typically due to larynx cancer). The device is held against the throat and its vibrations are transmitted through the neck. Then the patient can create speech by modulating the energy in the vocal tract.

We are in the process of designing a new speaking aid that improves significantly on the current state-of-the-art. Though we are working to make this voice sound more natural, the most important issue is intelligibility. Therefore we would need an intelligibility test to evaluate whether new voices can be understood as well as with the state-of-the-art device.

Your Tasks

• Review of intelligibility tests
• Implement test framework
• Tests with real user
• Documentation

Your Profile/Prerequisites

• Motivation and interest in the topic
• Communication skills (+ no fear of Austrian Dialects)
• Experience with Matlab and/or Python
• Teams of 2 - 4 people are highly welcome

Contact:

Martin Hagmüller (hagmueller@tugraz.at or 0316/873 4377)