Ryan. Alex. Siri. These are ###### of robotic voices that are ###### programmed on electronic tablets. They ###### become default identities for people ###### speech disorders who rely on ###### to communicate.]]>
The effort to build ###### international "Human Voicebank" has attracted ###### than 17,000 volunteers from 110 ######, including Priyanka Pandya, a 16-year ###### from Columbia, Md., who plans ###### spend her winter vacation recording ###### string of sentences into her ######.

"To be able to give ###### the gift of voice," said ###### junior at Glenelg Country School. "###### think that's really, really powerful," ###### said.

Her voice could be ###### to help one of more ###### 2 million Americans who have ###### speech disorders and need help ###### communicate, a dilemma captured in ###### acclaimed new television series "Speechless," ###### main character, a teenager with ###### palsy, relies on technology and ###### personal aide to act as ###### "voice" at school.]]>
###### company designs personalized synthetic voices ###### recording the unique, if limited, ###### of the user, and then ###### them with a larger sample- ###### six to ten hours of ######- from a voice donor, matched ###### age, gender and region.

The ###### is developing voices now for ###### first 100 customers. But researchers ###### been honing the technology for ###### years.

Tim Bunnell, head of ###### Speech Research Laboratory at the ###### I.]]>
The scientists in Bunnell's lab ###### the sounds and analyze them ###### vocal qualities, such as pitch ###### timbre, and record them as ###### batch of numbers. Then they ###### out the recordings from a ###### donor. They merge the voices ###### modifying the donor voice to ###### the qualities of the user's ######.]]>
Patel, ###### is also a speech technology ###### on leave from Northeastern University, ###### with Bunnell as a researcher. ###### she decided to bring the ###### out of the lab, she ###### her own method for blending ###### and turned to crowdsourcing to ###### access to enough voices to ###### the diversity of potential customers, ###### could include a middle-aged man ###### Alabama or a little girl ###### Ireland.

Since she announced the ###### two years ago, the response ###### been overwhelming, she said, with ###### ages 6 to 91 logging ###### from all over the world. ###### donate for many reasons: Some ###### practicing English or working toward ###### service requirements.]]>
Some ###### said they are undergoing gender ###### and want to preserve their ###### before it changes. Many are ###### interested in a new way ###### volunteer.

Pandya has gone on ###### trips to South America, and ###### started a service organization at ###### school. But the aspiring biomedical ###### said she was inspired to ###### someone speak and also fascinated ###### the technology and the ability ###### "intertwine two voices."

She began ###### her voice last summer- using ###### pair of headphones and speaking ###### her MacBook Air as she ###### the prompts on her computer ######.]]>
The ###### technology has challenges. Patel said ###### is continuing to streamline the ###### to build voices cost-effectively and ######. The $1,249 price tag puts ###### out of reach for many ######. And for donors, the process ###### lengthy; It can take six ###### 10 hours to record the ###### phrases required to complete a ###### sample. Only about 10 percent ###### the donors have made it ###### the way through.]]>
John Gregoire, of Windham, ######, was one of the first ###### receive a customized voice last ###### from VocalID, then in a ###### phase. The voice came eight ###### after his diagnosis of ALS, ###### more than six years since ###### voice had become unintelligible to ###### except his wife and youngest ######.

Since then, his wife, Linda, ###### she got used to hearing ###### speak with "Ryan," the American-sounding ###### voice programmed into his iPad.]]>
The couple is ###### money now to build a ###### studio to encourage people in ###### community to make high-quality recordings ###### their voices to donate to ######.

"Having a distinctive voice is ###### getting something back that was ######," John said.]]>