Cicada (project)

Project Cicada is a collaborative research effort aimed at understanding the voice synthesis technology behind the classic Voder speech synthesizer and developing advanced, open-source speech synthesis models. It explores techniques to produce natural-sounding artificial speech, improving voice cloning and text-to-speech systems. The project emphasizes transparency and community participation, combining historical insights with modern machine learning to enhance how machines generate human-like speech for applications like virtual assistants, accessibility tools, and multimedia. Overall, Cicada seeks to balance technological innovation with responsible use, fostering open research to advance speech synthesis capabilities.