Photo: "Silent" Speech Device May Aid Divers, Firefighters, Cell Phone Users

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NASA Ames researcher Chuck Jorgensen wears special sensors that read electrical signals from the muscles near his throat. When Jorgensen speaks silently to himself, the device sends the signals to a computer program that converts them into his words.

This subvocal speech recognition could one day be used for communication underwater, in high-noise environments, or even for "silent" cell phone calls.

Photograph courtesy NASA Ames Research Center/Dominic Hart

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