Who developed the TMS5100/TMC0281 speech synthesis chip for the Speak & Spell?
RW: I worked closely with Larry to design a processing architecture that could perform the necessary computations in a dedicated architecture. After we did the basic design, other researchers worked with me to develop the analysis procedures to determine the synthesizer control data, and other IC designers worked with Larry to complete the design. However, most of the patents for the speech chip are in my name and Larry’s name. BE: How did you manage to create a synthesis chip cheap enough for mass production in a consumer toy? RW: [TI’s Consumer Products division] was designing many dedicated IC circuits for use in consumer products. Many of these IC’s were designed in PMOS, a semiconductor technology that was low cost. BE: How many words was the Speak & Spell capable of saying? RW: About 200. BE: From what I understand (and I might be wrong), the Speak & Spell was never capable of saying any arbitary word that one might type into the unit, but instead was limited to a set vocabulary.
