

Why you should listen

Northeastern University computer science professor Rupal Patel looks for ways to give voice to the voiceless. As founder and director of the Communication Analysis and Design Laboratory (CadLab), she developed a technology that combines real human voices with the characteristics of individual speech patterns. The result is VocaliD, an innovation that gives people who can't speak the ability to communicate in a voice all their own.

"There's nothing better than seeing the person who's actually going to use it, seeing their reaction, seeing their smile," says Patel.

"What others say"

[My daughter] is going to have a full life because of people like Rupal, who really want to help. Ruane Grimaldi (mother of Samantha), quoted in "Cutting-Edge Tech Gives A Synthetic Voice To The Voiceless," Huffington Post

Rupal Patel’s TED talks

Rupal Patel on the TED Blog