Robots have proved their worth almost in all fields, however much hasn’t been done in the speech therapy sector. Researchers at the Tokyo University of Science and the Musashino Red Cross Hospital are developing a robot capable of reproducing oral movements necessary to produce human speech. The ultimate aim of the scientist is to develop a robot that can be used for speech therapy and for teaching foreign languages. This Japanese robot with artificial mouth and tongue made of silicone and a lower jaw driven by artificial muscles can mimic tongue and lower jaw movements for reproducing vowel sounds. The movements are controlled by a computer program based on magnetic resonance imaging of oral movements of the human mouth during speech.
The ultimate aim of the scientist is to develop a robot that can be used for speech therapy and for teaching foreign languages.

The team is next working on building lips and a palate necessary for enunciating consonants.
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