What is Text to Speech (TTS)?
Text to speech (TTS) technology is a revolutionary tool that converts written text into spoken words. The technology is widely used today to assist individuals with disabilities in accessing digital content, to improve the accessibility of electronic materials, and to aid in the automation of customer service systems.
TTS technology has been around for decades, but it has only become widely accessible in recent years thanks to advancements in computing power and the growth of cloud-based services. TTS works using a variety of methods, but the two most common are concatenative and parametric. Concatenative TTS technology is the process of seamlessly stringing together pre-recorded segments of human speech to form complete sentences, while parametric TTS technology involves the use of machine learning algorithms to synthesize speech from scratch based on a variety of voice characteristics and other factors.
The applications of TTS are wide-ranging, with some of the most popular uses including voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, as well as audio books, education, and accessibility. TTS technology can help people with visual impairments access digital content and allow them to better understand and interact with the material.
Additionally, TTS technology can also be used to improve the customer experience in the call center industry, by providing automated voice responses that are more natural and accessible to customers.
While the benefits of TTS technology are numerous, it is important to note that there are still significant barriers to adoption, especially in less developed countries where access to technology and connectivity are limited. However, as technology continues to evolve and TTS systems become more advanced, it is expected that the use of TTS technology will become more widespread, benefiting millions of people around the world.