The RAPNIC project will create a corpus of recordings to train algorithms and enable voice recognition systems to identify unintelligible speech.

The RAPNIC Project – an acronym for Automatic Recognition of Unintelligible Speech in Catalan – has been named the winner of the CSC Impulsa 2024 Awards in the category of Innovative AI Projects in the Social Field. This award, presented by the Health and Social Consortium of Catalonia (CSC) on November 28 at an event held at CosmoCaixa in Barcelona, highlights the innovative nature of the initiative, which is currently in its early conceptual stages. The recognition will enable the project to move forward, aiming to improve the quality of life for people with speech disorders through the use of artificial intelligence.

RAPNIC addresses a specific and widely neglected challenge: the difficulty people with speech impairments face in accessing voice recognition technologies. These technologies are particularly valuable for this population as they can support daily tasks and enhance autonomy. However, the only solution currently available, Voiceitt, is offered exclusively in English. Voice recognition tools in Catalan – and many other languages – are currently unable to interpret speech with reduced intelligibility because no foundational database exists to train the necessary algorithms.

The main goal of the RAPNIC project is to develop AI technology capable of recognizing and interpreting unintelligible speech in Catalan. By creating a comprehensive and relevant corpus of recordings, RAPNIC will make it possible to train open-source AI models tailored to the Catalan language. A public demonstrator of unintelligible speech recognition will subsequently be developed using the newly created database.

In its initial phase, the project will focus on recording speech from individuals with Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, groups that together include approximately 22,000 people within the Catalan-speaking region. These groups have less severe speech impairments, making it easier to train the algorithms. Over the coming months, a minimum of 100 hours of voice recordings will be gathered with the participation of 120 volunteers from these groups, selected by expert speech therapists. Later, the project aims to expand the solution to the broader population of 49,000 individuals with speech impairments in the Catalan-speaking area, including those with more severe conditions. This tool will allow users to access telecare services, give commands to voice assistants, and communicate more independently and effectively with family members and professionals.

The RAPNIC project will be led by the iSocial Foundation. However, the CSC award application was submitted by the Catalan Down Syndrome Foundation (FCSD), a member of iSocial, on behalf of all project partners. The group of organizations driving RAPNIC includes, in addition to iSocial and FCSD, five other disability sector entities (Ampans Foundation, Maresme Foundation, Grup Alba, Aspace Catalunya Foundation –members de four of them of iSocial– and Astres Foundation). These organizations bring their expertise in working with individuals with functional diversity.

RAPNIC also benefits from scientific support provided by the Language and Computation Center at the University of Barcelona and the CIEN Research Group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. On the technological side, the project collaborates with the cooperative Col·lectivaT and the Salus.Coop platform for data donation in research. This collaborative network aims to integrate science, technology, and social action to achieve a shared goal.

Recognizing the Future of Digital Inclusion

The recognition from the Health and Social Consortium of Catalonia (CSC), which includes €20,000 in funding and technical support from the Consortium, will be instrumental in turning this initiative into a tangible reality.

With this distinction, RAPNIC takes a decisive step toward establishing itself as a key project promoting accessibility, inclusion, and empowerment for people with disabilities through artificial intelligence.

Watch the vídeo of the application!