The online speech therapy platform Novator has launched an application that recognizes speech disorders in children using neural networks. Analyzes the phrases spoken by the child and in one minute draws up a report on the number of sounds violated and the severity of the violation. Maria Smolyanova, founder of Novator, told RB.RU.
On the Russian market there are already IT services to solve speech problems in children; For example, in 2020, voice assistant Alice from Yandex released a simulator for training the pronunciation of complex sounds, and in August 2023, the Higher School of Economics presented a mobile application for diagnosing speech disorders using game tasks.
“Unlike previous solutions, the Novator app uses sound recognition technology and not only recognizes what the child said, but also determines what sound disorders are in his speech. The application also monitors the child’s progress in speech and helps track the need to consult a specialist in time, as well as the effectiveness of ongoing classes with a speech therapist,” said Smolyanova.
The neural network model was trained using data sets of children’s voices collected during more than 400,000 sessions conducted by speech therapists on the platform. It took the company about a year to develop the app; investments exceeded 10 million rubles.
The app is currently available in a web version; A pilot version of the mobile application will appear in stores in early 2024. You can test the development using the link (you will need to register on the platform).
In November, it emerged that Novator had attracted investments from VimpelCom’s investment subsidiary Hive LLC. This legal entity received 15.23% of Novator School LLC. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, another 65% of Novator belongs to the founder Maria Smolyanova, the remaining 20% belongs to the president of the non-profit foundation “Family History” Artem Maratkanov.
The transaction amount is not disclosed. According to experts interviewed by RB.RU, Novator’s valuation during the transaction could represent between 3 and 4 annual revenues of the company due to the strong technological component. According to the Kontur.Focus system, Novator School LLC’s income at the end of 2022 amounted to 65.3 million rubles.
Novator School appeared in 2021 and resides in Skolkovo. A distinctive feature of the platform is the author’s method of quickly producing sounds online and periodic diagnosis of students using a neural network to advance the correction of speech disorders.
Author:
Anastasia Marina
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
