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A Comparative Study of Text-to-Speech Systems in LabVIEW

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Soft Computing Applications (SOFA 2014)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 356))

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Abstract

In this paper we propose to study the possibilities of transforming the written language into speech (text-to-speech) using the LabVIEW programming environment. To this aim we studied the text-to-speech interfaces provided by the Microsoft Speech SDK for TTS applications. The number and diversity of languages that can be used through these interfaces are also taken into consideration. Emphasis is on the advantages and the limitations of each class while analyzing the possibility of rendering languages that use special characters. It is well known that LabVIEW offers little support for special characters, special language characters being no exception, hence finding a functional method of correctly rendering speech for special character languages is an arduous task we proceeded to undertake. We have also researched the use of a speech synthesizer called MBROLA that provides support for a wide range of international languages. Together with open-source software, namely eSpeak, MBROLA becomes a complete text-to-speech (TTS) system. We have also analyzed the possibility of interfacing eSpeak with LabVIEW.

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Correspondence to Manuela Panoiu .

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Panoiu, M., Rat, CL., Panoiu, C. (2016). A Comparative Study of Text-to-Speech Systems in LabVIEW. In: Balas, V., C. Jain, L., Kovačević, B. (eds) Soft Computing Applications. SOFA 2014. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 356. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18296-4_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18296-4_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-18295-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-18296-4

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