Evaluation of pitch coding alternatives for vibrotactile stimulation in speech training of the deaf

Use of vibrotactile feedback stimulation as an aid for speech vocalization by the hearing impaired or deaf is reviewed. Architecture of a vibrotactile based speech therapy system is proposed. Different formulations for encoding the fundamental frequency of the vocalized speech into the pulsed stimulation frequency are proposed and investigated. Simulation results are also presented to obtain a comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of the different formulated transformations. Results of the perception sensitivity to the vibrotactile stimulus frequency to verify effectiveness of the above transformations are included