A TALKING ROBOT

In efforts to learn more about the human vocal mechanism and how it creates speech, researchers at Waseda University in Tokyo have created an "anthropomorphic talking robot" called WT-4 (Waseda Talker No. 4). WT-4 contains robotic parts for lungs, vocal cords, tongue, lips, teeth, nasal cavity and soft palate. The talking robot can produce vowel and consonant sounds by mimicking vibrations of the vocal cords. Kotaro Fukui (kotaro@toki.waseda.jp) will show that mimicking speech control is effective in producing fluent continuous speech by the talking robot. (4aSC1; see additional information and video at http://www.takanishi.mech.waseda.ac.jp/research/voice/) Eiji Shintaku at Waseda University (kotaro@toki.waseda.jp) will present a more sophisticated vocal cord design for the next version of the robot, WT-5 (4aSC13). Edgar Flores and Sidney Fels of the University of British Columbia (ssfels@ece.ubc.ca) will present a robotic jaw capable of producing the complex set of motions of a human jaw during speech (4aSC8).

INFRASOUND: A NEW FRONTIER IN MONITORING THE EARTH

Just as astronomers view the stars at different wavelengths, from gamma rays to radio waves, acousticians are interested in all wavelengths of sound, from the highest registers of ultrasound to the lowest rumbles of infrasound, defined as the frequencies below which humans can hear. Researchers are increasingly listening to infrasound signals traveling through the Earth, to learn about an increasing number of phenomena on our planet. A day-long symposium (sessions 2aPA and 2pPA) explores some of these uses of infrasound, which include: rapidly identifying explosive volcanic erupt
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Contact: Ben Stein
bstein@aip.org
301-209-3091
American Institute of Physics
12-Apr-2005