The Voder machine, invented 100 years ago, is a remarkable piece of technology that can speak any language, including animal sounds. However, operating this machine requires exceptional control skills from its operators. The first true voice synthesizer was the Voice Operating Demonstrator (VOD) created by engineer Homer Dudley at Bell Laboratories in the 1930s. This device was quite complex and required operators to use 14 keys similar to a piano, a wrist-controlled stick, and foot pedals to make it speak.
To operate the Voder machine, operators would select one of two basic sounds – murmur and hiss – using the wrist control stick. Murmur is used for vowels and nasal sounds, while hiss is for consonants. These sounds are then passed through a series of selected filters via the keyboard. Operators could combine different sounds to form words and sentences based on keyboard controls. They could also add expressiveness and pitch using foot pedals.
During a demonstration at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, Helen Harper, the chief operator of Voder, showcased how challenging it was to master this machine. She emphasized the precision and timing required for each operation, which took her over a year to perfect. Only a small number of operators were able to master these skills needed to operate Voder correctly.
Before Voder, other devices were created to simulate speech, such as the device developed by Russian professor Christian Kratzenstein in 1779 and an invention by Wolfgang von Kempelen in 1791. These early devices laid the foundation for the development of voice synthesizers like Voder.
Today, we can see how much progress has been made since then with modern voice synthesizers and speech technology that can understand natural human language better than ever before.
In conclusion, the legacy of Voder lives on in modern technology as an inspiration for innovation and progress in speech recognition and synthesis technologies.
