Project Revoice
This innovative initiative marks a significant advancement in speech technology for individuals with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), allowing those who lose their ability to speak to communicate in their own unique voice. Collaborating with BWM Dentsu, The ALS Association, and Lyrebird, we developed Project Revoice. This initiative has successfully restored the voice of Pat Quinn, one of the founders of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, who was unable to record his voice before ALS affected his speech. By utilizing footage from his numerous interviews during the Ice Bucket Challenge, our team was able to reconstruct his voice. Previously, ALS patients could only use pre-recorded messages for communication; however, through our partnership with Canadian software company Lyrebird, we developed a comprehensive voice clone, enabling Pat to speak naturally and freely using his own voice rather than a robotic substitute, in conjunction with his eye-tracking assistive technology. The person who championed awareness for ALS has now regained his own voice. Achieving high-quality voice replication typically requires extensive recorded speech, which many current patients lack, making it crucial to establish a platform that allows individuals to capture their voice while they still can. To address this need, we collaborated with Space66 to create an accessible website for ALS patients to record and store their voices in the cloud. Project Revoice is now actively encouraging MND and ALS communities globally to document their voices for potential digital recreation using this cutting-edge voice cloning technology. Pat Quinn asserts, “ALS takes and takes and takes. This time, I will take something back! For those living with ALS to know they can still communicate in their own voice, even after it has been taken away, will fundamentally change how people cope with this illness.”