In all train stations between Vierwaldstädter and Bodensee (Lake Constance) in Switzerland you will be able to hear a Swiss voice made in Germany: Professional speaker and voice talent Corinne Hobi (www.voice4u.ch) was chosen to record the texts for the SOB’s new digital voice using our tried and tested speech technology.
Places like Wattwil, Brunnadern-Neckertal or Einsiedeln can prove difficult for standard computer voices, even in German – travelers will know a thing or two about that. To improve their service, railway companies have started following the trend toward individually optimized announcement systems. Aristech with our highly specialized knowhow is happy about this! We train our text-to-speech voices as early as during the recordings to ensure the customer's most important vocabulary is pronounced flawlessly by the digital voice. Text-to-speech systems ought to sound better than human announcements – they then improve travelers’ experiences and save the railway company money. Additionally, passengers identify with customer-exclusive, regionally colored announcements more easily. We have had a very similar experience while working on our project with the Austrian railway company ÖBB.
In total, Corinne Hobi recorded over 6,000 texts at a recording studio. Over and over again, we discussed, corrected and re-intonated recordings. The words had to be spoken as evenly as possible to ensure even longer text passages fit together without breaks or fractions. Afterwards, the so-called Corporate Voice is created and edited by cleaning, smoothing and optimizing the audios in complex automated and manual processes until they meet the strict quality controls of our experienced computer linguists and those of our customers, of course.
Since mid-May, Hobi’s digitized voice can be heard at all train stations and stops operated by the Südostbahn. She can say anything a train dispatcher types into a computer – without any additional studio or voice actor costs. “We are delighted by our new announcement system’s voice quality”, says SOB project leader Armin Rechsteiner. “The Swiss coloration, combined with the correct and consistent pronunciation, shows a significant advantage over the previous system and has been received well by our customers.”
About the SOB The Schweizerische Südostbahn AG (SOB, Swiss South-Eastern Railway) is an independent, private-sector managed and integrated railway company which includes all areas a public transport company needs. They support their customers, the federal government and the cantons, in achieving their mobility goals by all means. As a small and agile railroad, they take on the role of an outside-the-box thinker in the industry and actively drive innovation. As an employer, SOB supports some 600 employees through targeted training and development measures and actively involves them in the company's development process.
www.sob.ch [German/Italian only]