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Improving Accessibility and Independence for Blind/Visually Impaired Persons based on Speech Synthesis Technology

by Manpreet Kaur Dhaliwal, Rohini Sharma
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International Journal of Computer Applications
Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA
Volume 186 - Number 28
Year of Publication: 2024
Authors: Manpreet Kaur Dhaliwal, Rohini Sharma
10.5120/ijca2024923768

Manpreet Kaur Dhaliwal, Rohini Sharma . Improving Accessibility and Independence for Blind/Visually Impaired Persons based on Speech Synthesis Technology. International Journal of Computer Applications. 186, 28 ( Jul 2024), 12-20. DOI=10.5120/ijca2024923768

@article{ 10.5120/ijca2024923768,
author = { Manpreet Kaur Dhaliwal, Rohini Sharma },
title = { Improving Accessibility and Independence for Blind/Visually Impaired Persons based on Speech Synthesis Technology },
journal = { International Journal of Computer Applications },
issue_date = { Jul 2024 },
volume = { 186 },
number = { 28 },
month = { Jul },
year = { 2024 },
issn = { 0975-8887 },
pages = { 12-20 },
numpages = {9},
url = { https://ijcaonline.org/archives/volume186/number28/improving-accessibility-and-independence-for-blindvisually-impaired-persons-based-on-speech-synthesis-technology/ },
doi = { 10.5120/ijca2024923768 },
publisher = {Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA},
address = {New York, USA}
}
%0 Journal Article
%1 2024-07-26T23:00:21.036467+05:30
%A Manpreet Kaur Dhaliwal
%A Rohini Sharma
%T Improving Accessibility and Independence for Blind/Visually Impaired Persons based on Speech Synthesis Technology
%J International Journal of Computer Applications
%@ 0975-8887
%V 186
%N 28
%P 12-20
%D 2024
%I Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA
Abstract

Speech is a crucial communication tool and Text-to-Speech systems are revolutionizing the world by enabling disabled persons to access information and achieve independence. This study investigates the relevance and effects of speech synthesis systems in enhancing the independence and accessibility of people with visual impairments. An overview of voice synthesis technology, followed by categories of speech synthesis systems is given in this study. Studies that increase BVIPs' freedom and accessibility are also considered in the analysis. To evaluate the speech quality of synthesis systems in terms of naturalness and intelligibility, the pilot study is carried out utilizing the gTTS, pyttsx3, SpeechT5, and Bark models. It has been observed that SpeechT5 and pyttsx3 are performing very well in terms of naturalness and intelligibility.

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Index Terms

Computer Science
Information Sciences

Keywords

Blind/Visually impaired persons gTTS Speech Synthesis SpeechT5 pyttsx3 Mean Opinion Scale

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