WHAT AM I AIMING FOR? WHAT CAN I AND OUR PROJECT TEAM HOPE TO ACHIEVE?

Put simply,we are aiming to produce something amazing and really novel.

Which is...

A small device that goes inside the mouth to replace the vocal cord function and to not only allow mute people to speak, but sing—and in any language on Earth, without any special tuition. The natural way!

Further, I believe that, with skilled training, the device will enable deaf and dumb people who have never heard or spoken, to be able to more-easily learn how to speak.

By not going down the manual keyboard or needles-in-the- brain, signal-and-computer path concept, I believe that we will be able to very rapidly open up the world of speech to thousands of children and adults within a three-year time scale. Impossible with other approaches.

We seek to produce an end-user retail-type product for home use that can be installed by the domestic dental profession without hospital support or a computer laboratory. As one caveat, our system is not expected to function for those with paralysis of the face or lungs because it is intended to emulate the natural process of talking, just as the rest of us do.

Ultimately, of course, I seek to open up a world of natural communication and interaction for thousands of people who are unable to share that joy with the rest of humanity.

Working to help the voiceless

Somewhere in there, of course!

But where, exactly?

No, not for you. Sorry!

Invisibly attached to, or replacing existing teeth using implants?

To achieve this, we shall have to address the following basic question:

Where and how to mount the vocal prosthesis.

Engineered onto or into complete or partial dentures?

We shall also have to address the following questions:

How shall we power the device?

How can we make it sufficiently stable to be fixed?

How can we make it as invisible as possible?

How can we modulate the sound to sound like a voice?

How can the device operate or be operated in a natural manner?

How can we have a sufficiently robust power source?

How can we make it affordable?

To answer those questions, we are going to need:

A team of volunteer specialists and clinicians.

(Please volunteer if you are one of these people.)

Clinical and teaching school trials.

Locating and agreeing on the perfect oral site.

Engineering that site and the product to match.

Solving the electronic and audio problems.

Bringing the solution up to the prototype stage.

Giving demonstrations to potential users.

Finding government and industrial companies to patent, produce, and market the product.

Thank you all for your vital funding. I cannot guarantee success, but I can assure you that we will really try our very best!