Gallery›Digital Commonwealth — Boston Public Library›Machine That Talks and Sings has Tryout. Using for raw materials buzzing and hissing sounds produced by two vacuum tubes, the Voder, hailed as the first machine in the world to create speech, made its first public appearance today before an audience of scientists at the Franklin Institute. With the aid of a dexterous operator who, by means of organ-like keys and a foot pedal, mixed the sounds and controlled the shading in the manner of the human voice, the electrical device exercised its "vocal cords," first by making the individual vowel sounds, then talking in monosyllables and finally, to the amazement of the applauding hearers, speaking in complete sentences. A slight electrical accent was observable. It was developed as an exhibit of the Bell Telephone Laboratories for the New York and San Francisco World's Fairs. Stanley S. A. Watkins operates the synthetic speaker while Robert R. Riez, left, and Homer W. Ducley, look on. All are de the Bell company.
Machine That Talks and Sings has Tryout. Using for raw materials buzzing and hissing sounds produced by two vacuum tubes, the Voder, hailed as the first machine in the world to create speech, made its first public appearance today before an audience of scientists at the Franklin Institute. With the aid of a dexterous operator who, by means of organ-like keys and a foot pedal, mixed the sounds and controlled the shading in the manner of the human voice, the electrical device exercised its "vocal cords," first by making the individual vowel sounds, then talking in monosyllables and finally, to the amazement of the applauding hearers, speaking in complete sentences. A slight electrical accent was observable. It was developed as an exhibit of the Bell Telephone Laboratories for the New York and San Francisco World's Fairs. Stanley S. A. Watkins operates the synthetic speaker while Robert R. Riez, left, and Homer W. Ducley, look on. All are de the Bell company.
Digital Commonwealth — Boston Public Library

Machine That Talks and Sings has Tryout. Using for raw materials buzzing and hissing sounds produced by two vacuum tubes, the Voder, hailed as the first machine in the world to create speech, made its first public appearance today before an audience of scientists at the Franklin Institute. With the aid of a dexterous operator who, by means of organ-like keys and a foot pedal, mixed the sounds and controlled the shading in the manner of the human voice, the electrical device exercised its "vocal cords," first by making the individual vowel sounds, then talking in monosyllables and finally, to the amazement of the applauding hearers, speaking in complete sentences. A slight electrical accent was observable. It was developed as an exhibit of the Bell Telephone Laboratories for the New York and San Francisco World's Fairs. Stanley S. A. Watkins operates the synthetic speaker while Robert R. Riez, left, and Homer W. Ducley, look on. All are de the Bell company.

Wide World Photos, Inc. · [ca. January 1939]

CC0 — Public Domain
Digital Commonwealth — Boston Public Library

[Information from item housing] Inventions

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