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Voice Communication Sciences

Project description

Training the architects of Europe’s voice technology future

From cochlear implants to forensic investigations, the way we process voice data has profound social impacts. Voice technology is a staple of modern life, and the demand for experts who understand the complexity of human speech is soaring. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the VoCS project brings together 23 partners across 12 countries to advance voice technology in the clinical and security sectors. It will train a new generation of scientists in phonetics and neuroscience; the project focuses on improving voice perception for the hearing-impaired and developing sophisticated tools for identifying individuals through speech. The project’s goal is to move the European voice technology industry towards more intuitive and human-centric systems.

Objective

With AI-driven advances, the rapidly developing field of voice technology (VT) has transformed European life through voice assistants, text-to-speech systems, and cochlear implants. However, severe challenges remain in processing paralinguistic information such as identity, emotional state or health in voices. The Voice Communication Sciences (VoCS) project is an ambitious initiative to address these challenges and advance Europe's position at the forefront of VT. VoCS aims to train a new generation of scientists with interdisciplinary expertise in Voice Communication Sciences. The project gathers a consortium of 23 academic and non-academic partners across 12 countries, collaborating to provide a world-class training-by-research program. The primary goal is to equip 19 doctoral candidates (DCs) with integrated knowledge spanning cognitive neuroscience, acoustics, phonetics, and computing science, via a unique combination of hands-on research training in labs, with cross-sectorial workshops in fundamental, technological, and clinical domains relevant to voice communication. The project's innovative aspects lie in its comprehensive approach to voice processing, bridging disciplines from neuroscience to engineering. The VoCS research program is structured around three scientific objectives: (1) advancing basic knowledge of natural voice processing, exploring paralinguistic information in voices; (2) building on these insights to design more natural and flexible synthetic voices; (3) transferring this knowledge into user-oriented applications in health and forensics, including the improvement of voice perception for hearing-impaired individuals, advancements in forensic speaker comparison methods, and the development of tools to combat deepfake speech. VoCS aims to contribute not only to scientific knowledge but also to the exponential growth of the VT industry by creating a network of skilled experts shaping the future of VT in Europe.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN - HORIZON TMA MSCA Doctoral Networks

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-DN-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITE D'AIX MARSEILLE
Net EU contribution
€ 565 387,20
Address
BOULEVARD CHARLES LIVON 58 LE PHARO
13284 Marseille
France
Region
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Bouches-du-Rhône
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data

Participants (13)

Partners (11)