As a collaboration between BWM Dentsu, Haystac, Lyrebird, Finch, Rumble Studios, Space 66 and the ALS Association, it took a year to bring this revolutionary speech synthesis project to life.
BWM Dentsu and its PR arm, Haystac, has launched Project Revoice in partnership with the ALS Association in the US and MND Australia.
The initiative introduces a new speech-based technology to those living with ALS, also known as Motor Neuron Disease, giving those who have suffered voice loss the opportunity to speak again.
As part of the launch, Project Revoice sought to give Pat Quinn, co-founder of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, his voice back.
Pat did not record (or bank) his voice before he lost it to ALS. Using footage from his many Ice Bucket interviews, the team were able to re-build his voice.
In the past, people with ALS could use pre-recorded messages to communicate, but the BWM Dentsu Group worked with Canadian software partner Lyrebird to create a complete voice clone.
This allows Quinn to speak freely and naturally in his own voice, rather than a computerised one, when linked to his eye reader assistive technology.
“Being able to give Pat his voice back and seeing what that means to him and his family, has been incredibly rewarding. Knowing that this tech is literally going to transform the lives of thousands more, is something we’re all very proud of," BWM Dentsu ECD Asheen Naidu says.
“ALS takes and takes and takes. This time I will take something back! For those living with ALS to know that they can still speak freely – in their own voice – even after ALS takes it away, will transform the way people live with this disease,” ALS Ice Bucket Challenge co-founder Pat Quinn says.
Project Revoice is now working to encourage MND and ALS communities around the world to record their voices so they can be digitally recreated in the future using this innovative new voice cloning technology.
