Algorithm understands by the voice if the user is tired

© naftemporiki.gr Algorithm understands by voice whether the user is tired

Researchers in the UK are developing a system that can sense fatigue levels by looking for signs of fatigue in the voice and designing its use, first of all, by operators of heavy building machines.

Small changes in voice can reveal levels of fatigue, say scientists specializing in the subject, in London. UCL researchers have developed an algorithm that can examine the sound of one’s voice and conclude if the person to whom the voice belongs is tired. The benefits this provides is obvious, as it could save many lives on the streets.

“What we are trying to do is to make a model of someone’s voice through multiple recordings at a time … previous works tended to focus on individual features such as the breadth and the height of the voice. We are trying to use a larger “constellation” of features that include many dimensions, both tone and voice quality, as well as purity, speech and pause rates, and many other things. And this gives us increased sensitivity in looking at how voice changes during the day and time,

Mark Hackney, Professor of Voice Science at UCL, told Reuters.

In collaboration with the WOMBATT -fatigue management company- researchers conducted a pilot study in a mine in Peru, where fatigue can be fatal for machine operators. As it turned out, despite the transition from the controlled, laboratory environment to the noisy cabin of a vehicle, the system was again able to find the voice of the operator. In the long run, scientists provide for a practical system inside the cabins.

“The goal is not to prevent the driver from doing his job or hunting them or stopping the truck: It’s just to protect the driver’s health and the safety of the vehicle,

Hackney adds.

Source: www.naftermporiki.gr