AusKidTalk to capture Aussie kids' speech to improve voice recognition software

AUSKidTalk, a project that records Australian children talking, aims to close the gap in speech recognition systems that have until now performed badly in understanding young users of technology. Up until now, speech recognition software that powers virtual assistants like Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri has relied on a growing database of adult voices.

Dr Beena Ahmed, a senior lecturer with UNSW’s School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, is working to change that and build a world-first database of Australian children’s voices.