AI Voice Personalization for Deaf and Mute Users

How can we help Deaf people create a voice profile in an inclusive way?

Duration

February 2024

Client

MIT & Perkins School for the Blind

Services

UX Design

Strategy

Challenge

Deaf & Mute People Lack Consistent Vocal Identity

We heard Jon Mowl’s story of having thousands of ASL interpreters over the years - with most of them being white women.

UI Design

Inclusive Design Gives the User Freedom

This design gives users three ways to choose how they want to customize their voice.
There is also additional information of what gender and age are typically ascribed to different pitches.

Tension

Not Everyone Identifies with Their Demographic

It would be easy to allow users to choose between:

  • Age,

  • Gender,

  • and dialect

But what about people who don’t see themselves or want to be seen in such narrow boxes?
A manual pitch option may not work for users who have never heard pitch.

Research

Dogs’ Personalities Transcend Sound

I found that by comparing voice options to dog breeds, users were able to choose what they wanted their voice to sound like

  • Without feeling alienated

  • Understanding how it would be perceived

We selected three adjectives to further describe the voice presets.

I found that by comparing voice options to dog breeds, users were able to choose what they wanted their voice to sound like

  • Without feeling alienated

  • Understanding how it would be perceived

We selected three adjectives to further describe the voice presets.

Outcome

Winners of $2,500 Prize and Featured in the Boston Museum of Science

MIT and Perkins School for the Blind selected our project as the winner of the weekend-long hackathon. This meant a prize to continue working on our project and a promise to be featured in the Museum of Science in Boston, MA.