Just wondering, a few weeks ago my Dad told me Hawking’s voice box was built from obsolete electronics and so if it broke down it couldn’t be repaired. Neither (according to the newspaper report) could it be replicated using software.
Is this true?
According to this, Hawkin’s voice box is a Dec Talk synthesizer. From what I can tell, the hardware is still available, and it’s far from the only solution for text to speech.
Unless there’s something unusual about the interface to the voice box, I can’t imagine why it would be impossible to replace the functionality of the voice box, possibly even with a more realistic generator.
Speakonia (free!) sounds very similar. One could tweak it to be perfect, given that it simply constructs frequencies into phonemes just as Hawking’s own processor does.
According to an article that I read a while ago, it is a very personal issue for him. and he really wants to avoid changing his voice. Apparently no off-the-shelf solution is close enough in his opinion. A custom made solution should be possible, but of course that would require some work (and money.) Such a system also has to be very reliable if it is intended for his everyday use.
By modern standards his synthesizer isn’t that good at all. I don’t know about specialized devices for his needs, but in general text-to-speech systems sound a lot more natural than that today.
Windows XP has a couple of different voice synthesizers built in, and one of them, “LH Michael,” sounds like Stephen Hawkings’ voice. The others are a female version of this voice (LH Michele), and an alternate male voice (Microsoft Sam).
Years ago, I had a computer program that sounded almost exactly like his voice. So I doubt it’s irreplaceable.
The guy who does the MC Hawking songs says in the FAQ that he uses something calld WillowTALK. I think that that sounds very much like the real Hawking. (Well, if he were really rapping about driveby shootings and tha’ thug/theoretical physics life.)
–Cliffy
Aw, hell, there used to be a site of “Steven Hawking Pick-up Lines”. I can’t find it and now the joke is ruined. :mad:
Besides being one of the truly amazing people on earth, he has a sense of humor. When asked once about the quality of the voice, he said his only complaint was that it had an American accent.
Click on music sample link for fitter happier
Hmmm… might need to register. But doing so is fast and free and worth it.
Almost surely no. Just because electronics are obsolete doesn’t mean they are totally unavailable. For example, while an Apple II computer may be obsolete, there are still Apple IIs out there. If Hawking’s voice box was made out of off the shelf electronics, surely with some effort this obsolete electronics could be bought at a price. It isn’t like Hawkings couldn’t afford it. The only possible way that his voice box couldn’t be repaired is if perhaps it was a one of a kind hand built item, and the designer is no longer around who knows how to build it. I doubt this is the case.
Obsolete electronics? In an era when NASA gets spare parts off Ebay, I see no reason why Mr Hawking couldn’t…
Obsolete? I think not.
Yeah, I was thinking it wouldn’t take too much to see what was making the box tick or have some way of simply programming the sound into a piece of software that mimiced the voice box.
I always wondered about his voice. It’s reasonable that he doesn’t want to change it. It’s very distinct; you know it’s Stephen Hawking when you hear it.
Is there any way, legally, for Stephen Hawking to ensure that no one else uses his voice?
The voice in “Fitter Happier” is a fairly common (but old) text to speech program - I remember it from years ago. It always sounded like Hawking’s voice box to me - what substantial differences are there between that program and Hawking’s?
Snip
Me too. I would have it recite “The Cremation of Sam McGee” and later, when I heard Hawking’s “voice,” I was surprised that it was exactly like my computer’s.
No.
If he’s using a DecTalk box, there are thousands of people already using his voice throughout the world. Whoever owns the rights to DEC equipment these days owns the right to the voice.
There’s a manufacturing plant near here that still uses DecTalk boxes. As I recall, there were at least half a dozen voices that came with the thing. The one the plant uses is a female voice that has an odd oriental accent to it. You can tell who the new guys are at the plant because they get on the intercom and try to talk back to her.
Plus he did a brilliant guest voice on The Simpsons: “TimeForThisHawkToFly*”