ReVoice: a control interface for 1d transmission-line analog vowel synthesis

As an integrated part of the human experience, the voice has nat- urally raised interest amongst audio computing researchers. This has especially been true since the development of modern imaging techniques and increased computational capacities. Voice synthesis is now an active area of investigation, as much for AI design, as for the film industry or pure research purposes. Although various digital models of the vocal tract exist, few authors have proposed a simple physical device allowing a tangible approach to the process of vocalic synthesis. The work presented here is a control interface that gives the users the ability to interact with a voice synthesis algorithm in a tactile manner. ReVoice is an artificial and manipulable vocal tract, whose shape, controlled by the user’s hands, determines the nature of the vowel that is synthesised. More specifically, this can help the user to understand how changes in the vocal tract impact the nature of the vowel. This paper elucidates all designs and specifications that characterise the device and interaction: hardware, software, mapping and use.