Show HN: Simple TTS augmentative and alternative communication app

7 hours ago 2

About¶

Sometimes the cord between my brain and mouth goes AWOL and so I wanted an alternative and cross-platform mechanism to engage in speech with others. Other existing FOSS AAC programs I tried were either too much or too invasive (accounts/trackers/etc.) for my usecase and liking, so I made my own.

Launch the AAC!

Features:

Can be installed as a progressive web app (PWA) or used on the web.
Freeform (orthographic) input.
Phrase board (pictographic) input.
Sixteen phrase board presets are available.
822 phrases have machine translations into 35 languages.
1199 phrases have pictograms thanks to the Mulberry Symbols (CC BY-SA 4.0) project.
WebSpeech TTS backed by system/browser TTS provider.
Alternative TTS via the Sherpa framework (Apache-2.0) using Piper TTS (MIT) trained on LibriTTS-R data (CC BY 4.0).
Fast and tiny at <400KB (excluding pictograms).

Policy:

100% client side
zero of the following: accounts, cookies, ads, trackers, referrals, unnecessary scripts, network calls
FOSS & contributions welcomed - source code (AGPL-3.0) available via: Codeberg, GitHub, GitLab

Compatibility Matrix

FeatureChromiumFirefoxSafari

Install as PWA	✅	✅	✅
WebSpeech TTS	✅	✅	✅
Sherpa TTS	✅	✅	⛔
Sherpa TTS Caching	✅	⛔	⛔
Speak on enter	✅	✅	✅
Speak on space	⛔	✅	✅
Pictograms	✅	✅	✅

More information¶

What is AAC?¶

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is a way for people to communicate when speaking is difficult or impossible. It includes everything from simple picture cards to electronic devices that can speak for you. AAC helps people express their thoughts, needs, and feelings, and it is used by people of all ages and abilities who experience communication challenges. Read about AAC and SGDs on Wikipedia or at Communication Matters.

Alternatives¶

Here are other long-standing and proper solutions that are actively developed:

AsTeRICS Grid: Website/PWA, Source Code (AGPL-3.0). Has one self-hosted tracker. Can be installed as a PWA.
Cboard: Website, PWA, Source Code (GPL-3.0). Has many trackers embedded in the app and website (PWA). Tested working on GrapheneOS with Internet permission revoked.

As well as some creative pocket-friendly offline alternatives that I explored:

Palm Pilot (eg. m105, m125): Can write notes using the Graffiti shorthand system via the `memo pad` app and create freeform sketches via the `note pad` app. They can be found used on places like eBay for $15-$30. They are powered by two AAA batteries and last a month. Their downside is that Graffiti can be annoying and the sketch area is quite small.
Generic "LCD Writing Tablets": These are freeform sketch pads that do not persist and are available for under $10. They only use a button-cell battery to clear the screen and can last over a year of use. Their downside is that they can be hard to read depending on lighting conditions and the stylus isn't stored internally and instead dangles off the side by a weak magnet. Example on Amazon

What about the Live Speech feature on Apple products?