A 16-year old Indian boy has created a device that is capable of translating human breaths into speech.

The high school boy, Arsh Shah Dilbagi, invented the device called TALK.

He says that the portable and reasonably priced device was created for people who were suffering from ALS, locked-in syndrome, and others who have their speech impaired or are paralyzed.

Like Us on Facebook

He adds that about 1.4 percent of people have trouble talking which may lead to a decreased lifespan due to a lack of expression. This device is capable of improving the lives of people by giving them a means of expression and communication.

TALK works much like a morse code machine, but instead of fingers tapping away the code, it uses people's breathing.

TALK translates breaths into electric signals using a MEMS Microphone. This microphone is an advanced piece of listening technology that uses a diaphragm that is etched directly onto a silicon microchip.

The user must then be capable of giving two distinguishable exhale breaths that vary in time and intensity, in order for users to spell out words in Morse Code.

Then, a microprocessor interprets these breaths as dots and lines, much like Morse. They are then converted into auditory words when the data is sent to another microprocessor to say them in a voice.

Apart from translating the breaths into English, they can also be translated into specific commands or phrases, and also in nine other different voices that vary from age and gender.

The prototype of the device used only a US$25 Arduino microcontroller. All in all, Dilbagi spent only US$80 for the initial creation of his device.

Dilbagi's TALK is part of Google's Global Science Fair which allows for children to put forward bright ideas that can change the world.

Tagstalk, Arsh Shah Dilbagi, Google's Global Science