We are designing an adapted telephone for Quadriplegics and people with restricted hand movement. The user will not only have a complete voice activated and automated phone system, but he/she will be able to have private conversations which other current solutions do not offer.

We tried different methods of trying to create a voice-activated system. Our first prototype was built using Dragon Naturally speaking and Skype to place a phone call with the phone number you just stated. After we got an Asterisk account we started developing Asterisk, AGI scripts, and with Sphinx. We also researched different ways to initiate the call to our toll-free number, and how to build the telephone system into the hairdryer without creating feedback or too much echo, and still be get an accurate speech-recognition reading.

We are designing for a widely-inclusive definition of everyone; especially, people who currently cannot independently use the regular telephone, or who are dissatisfied with adapted phones on the market.

the user will place herself/himself under the device (vintage commercial hair-dryer) and will activate the phone (built in inside the dome/hair-dryer) using hers/his voice, so no physical intervention is necessary. All the necessary commands will be speech recognized such as: pick- up/ dial/ hang-up etc.

The phone was created using a SIP-based VoIP provider, Asterisk, Sphinx (an open source speech-recognition software), a vintage hair-dryer, headphones, speaker/mic, and an accordion arm.

We learned about how to design for constraints, and reevaluating what we take for granted in our daily lives. We also learned a lot about the Asterisk system, speech-recognition software, and noise feedback.