Inventing a Response: Voicify

The invention is an application for a tablet device that speaks in the voice of Oskar’s dad by Oskar selecting a computer generating it and editing it so that it is close to his dad. When the app is opened there will be a number of options that allow the user to change what the voice sounds like. For example they could make it more or less loud, quiet, low pitched, high pitched, friendly, cold, or anything that could make the voice more unique. It could even take a recording of Oskar’s voice using the tablet’s microphone and put it through an “ager” to hear what is voice might sound like after puberty. This is bound to be pretty close to his dad’s voice, making it easier for him to get the computer close to his dad’s voice. The voice is then connected to the internet and used to narrate passages on anything Oskar could want to know, but in the voice of his dad. It is used by opening the app while reading something, and the text is automatically read and converted into the voice needed. There is also a picture conversion part of the app, which converts written words into text to be read by the voice. This way, notes written or letters written by Oskar’s dad could be read in his voice, and books can be read like the ones his dad read to him before bed. This app is like the ultimate audiobook. I call it “Voicify”.

The death of Oskar’s father has left an unfillable hole in his young life. He can’t cope with the loss, and spends a good deal of his time thinking about his dad. One example of this is a desire for a teakettle that could read him stories in the voice of his dad so that he could sleep (Page 1). He is kept up at night by memories of his dad, so just his dad’s voice would be extremely comforting and might provide him with a small way to fill his grief. In addition, Oskar displays a tremendous desire for knowledge, both when he tells his jujitsu teacher that he “wants to know everything” (Page 2) and when he sends Stephen Hawking a letter asking to be his protege (Page 11). Stephen Hawking is generally considered to be one of the smartest men in the world. The internet offer an unending source of knowledge for Oskar. It is almost a summation of everything mankind has ever known, and if you can think of it, chances are its already on the internet. By giving Oskar easy access in the form of a tablet device, and by making it possible for Oskar to listen to all the information instead of having to concentrate on text, Oskar will be able to learn much more, easier, and with the comfort of his dad’s voice. Subsequently, this is very similar to what Stephen Hawking does. Because he is physically crippled, he cannot physically read many books, so he uses a computer to search the internet continuously to learn new things. This is one of the reasons he is so smart, so if Oskar uses this similar method, he could, in a sense, be a protege of Hawking, even if he hasn’t met him. This is another goal of Oskar. Oskar could even use the app to learn new languages like French (Page 2) and others that he is interested in before he goes to bed like could be done with Rosetta Stone. But he could do all this with the comfort of his dad’s familiar voice, which he can’t truly hear anymore. This would give him a great sense of peace, and could give him another lasting connection to his dad.