The Hindu : National : Software that makes kids turn into comedians

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Friday, Aug 25, 2006

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Software that makes kids turn into comedians

Anand Parthasarathy

Scottish Universities create tool that helps speech-challenged kids create puns

Bangalore: Researchers at three Scottish universities, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh, have joined hands to help children who need to use computerised tools to speak.

They have created a software tool that encourages them to use speech technology by making the experience a laugh. A workshop at the University of Dundee on August 25 and 26 will share the experience of the researchers who have been working since 2003 to develop STANDUP, or System To Augment Non-speakers Dialogue Using Puns.

The software helps speech-challenged youngsters create puns and other funny lines, so that they are encouraged to tell a joke and bridge the communication barrier.

Jokes created by challenged kids using the thesaurus of puns include: What do you get when you cross a car with a sandwich? A traffic jam! What do you call a strange rabbit? A funny bunny! What do you call a spicy missile? A hot shot!

Basic details can be found at the web page: http://groups.inf.ed.ac.uk/standup/index.php

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