The fascination of the speaking machine: Technological change in speech synthesis over two centuries

With the Historical Acoustic-Phonetic Collection (HAPS) , TU Dresden owns a collection of apparatus, machines and objects that represent the development of exponential phonetics and speech technology from the middle of the 18th century to the second half of the 20th century in a uniquely comprehensive manner for Europe. In contrast to the holdings on experimental phonetics, the holdings on language technology were not indexed. These mainly fall into the field of speech synthesis and range from replicas of the first mechanical vocal resonators and speech machines by Kratzenstein (1782) and von Kempelen (1791) to various mechanical devices for recording speech physiological parameters (e.g. vocal tone or lip and laryngeal movement) and the first analog electrical speech analysis and synthesis machines. The joint project "Fascination of the Speaking Machine: Technological Change in Speech Synthesis over Two Centuries" (01UQ1601 A|B), funded by the BMBF from 2017 to 219, was dedicated to this sub-collection.

The interdisciplinary project team led by Junior Professor Peter Birkholz (Institute of Acoustics and Speech Communication) transferred the HAPS collection into a digital exhibition. Apparatus, machines and objects representing the development of experimental phonetics and speech technology from the mid-18th century to the second half of the 20th century were presented in a multimedia format to ensure greater visibility and interactive engagement with the exhibits. Selected objects were set up as demonstration objects for teaching purposes as part of the project and can now be used in lectures and practical experiments. Video about the project

The complexity of the "Fascination of the Talking Machine" project brought together experts from the humanities and technical sciences. In addition to Junior Professor Peter Birkholz, other project participants included Senior Professor Rüdiger Hoffmann (also Institute of Acoustics and Speech Communication), Professor Rainer Groh (Institute of Software and Multimedia Technology), Professor Jens Krzywinski (Institute of Machine Elements and Machine Design), Professor Joachim Scharloth (Institute of German Studies) and Dr. Peter Plaßmeyer from the Mathematical-Physical Salon of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (State Art Collections). A demonstrator of an electro-mechanical speech tract model developed as part of the project and other project results are part of the exhibition "DER SCHLÜSSEL ZUM LEBEN - 500 Jahre mechanische Figurenautomaten", which has been postponed from 2020 to 2022 due to the pandemic . The exhibition will be shown from 03.06.2022-25.09.2022 in the Kunstahlle in the Lipsiusbau.