The Karaoke Transformer is an implementation of the voice transformation techniques developed in the context of the Semantic HiFi European project . It is a VST-plugin for boosting voice in karaoke performances. The plug-in offers singing meaningful transformations as vibrato or timbre modification. This first prototype has been already developed in C++ and runs in real-time under any compatible VST hosts. All transformation algorithms are based on spectral techniques that analyze and modify the content in the frequency domain.

The ComboVox PlugIn is included in the Bonus DVD of the Pinnacle Studio 10 software. This PlugIn allows the user to transform voices in the context of a professional video editing software. The voice can be corrected or modified based on meaningful transformations, such as adding vibrato, transposing or correcting pitch or modifying timbre. It includes a set of pre-designed transformations clearly identified with an icon describing it, including human based modifications such as gender change or age change but also fiction transformation like robotizer effect, alien effect, ogre effect, and others. With this PlugIn untrained users can very easily transform a kid voice into an elderly woman or give a man's voice an special robot sound or monster effect.

The VST Voice Transformation PlugIn is an implementation of the voice transformation techniques developed in the context of the Salero European project . It is a VST PlugIn for transforming voices in real-time, based in a set of meaningful controls like tunning (pitch and vibrato), Sinusoidal controls like frequency shift & stretch, amplitude modulation, excitation controls like roughness, whisper, breathiness or robotizer and timbre modification. Harmonizer controls allow to transform one voice to many in real-time controlling each voice independently setting the desired control parameters and panning for each one of them separately. The PlugIn offers the possibility to create presets based on the control parameters and store it for later use. Also some visualization of the input and output sound is achieved with the vst gui representation, showing in/out pitch (piano roll visualization), in/out spectrum and in/out waveform.

This prototype has been already developed in C++ and runs in real-time under any compatible VST hosts. All transformation algorithms are based on spectral techniques that analyze and modify the content in the frequency domain. Also an stand alone application has been developed to allow offline transformations to easily integrate the technology in a postproduction batch chain, these transformations are based on presets created using the VST Voice Transformation PlugIn.

                                 VST Voice Transform PlugIn Screenshots

The KaleiVoiceCope technology has been present in a temporal installation for the CosmoCaixa Madrid and Barcelona Museums and currently in the CaixaForum gallery in Tarragona. In this installation, the visitor of the museum talks to a microphone, selects how to transform his/her voice and listens and visualizes the voice.

Concept Idea of the Installation

"El Caleidoscopio de la Voz" is an installation composed by an interactive kiosk with a 19'' touch display for selecting the transformations, a big 40'' screen for in/out voice parameters visualization, a microphone to capture the input voice and a set of speakers for reproducing the output transformed voice. In the touch screen, the allowed voice transformations are represented by an image icon (male to female, female to male, elder, child, moster, robot, alien or cartoon). The user presses one of these icons to select the desired transformation. Depending on the image selected, the system analyzes the sound coming from the microphone near the kiosk, transforms it to sound like pressed icon and reproduces it in real-time using the set of speakers situated in front of the user. Some extracted parameters from the voice in the analysis process are represented in the big display so the user can view in real-time some characteristics of his/her voice and the transformed one like waveform, spectrum and pitch.

Block Diagram of the Installation

Images from the exhibition in CosmoCaixa Madrid Museum

Num3ros exhibition
From 08/May/2007 to 01/September/2008
Place: CosmoCaixa Madrid
Adress: C/ Pintor Velazquez, s/n
City: Alcobendas (SPAIN)

Nombr3s exhibition
From 16/July/2008 to 18/April/2010
Place: CosmoCaixa Barcelona
Adress: C/ Isaac Newton, 26
City: Barcelona (SPAIN)

Nombres de bona família exhibition
From 15/Dec/2010 to 6/Mar/2011
Place: CaixaForum Tarragona
Address: C/ Cristòfor Colom, 2
City: Tarragona (SPAIN)

The KaleiVoiceCope technology is present in a new Voice Transformation Installation for "Sala Flash", a new space designed by the famous artist and designer Javier Mariscal inside the Cosmocaixa Museum in Barcelona. The exhibition room consist in some interactive installations especially developed for children from 7 to 9 years.

"La Meva Veu Fa Ones" in Sala Flash

In this installation, the user (childrem from 7 to 9 years) talks to a microphone and pressing some buttons is able to transform and listen to his/her voice in real-time. The waveform of the user voice and the transformed voice are drawn in real-time in a panoramic display so children can understand that the voice produces sound waves and that the transformation of the voice also transforms the shape and periodicity of the sound waves. Every transformation correspond to a different light button and an image icon identifies each transformation, the last button pressed remains iluminated to indicate the current transformation that is being applied.

Block Diagram of the Installation

The transformations available are: Female to Male, Male to Female, Older voice, Baby voice, Monter voice, Alienator, Robotizer and Clown effect. Each transformation has been tuned and adapted for kids as input voice, because this is the common public in this exhibition. Four kids can interact with the installation at the same time, as there are four independent sets of microphone, speakers, display and buttons, everything integrated in a modern furniture specially dessigned by Javier Mariscal, a well-know artist and designer.

Images from the exhibition in CosmoCaixa Barcelona Museum

Sala Flash
Permanent exhibition from December 2007
Place: CosmoCaixa Barcelona
Adress: C/ Teodor Roviralta, 47-51, Barcelona
City: BARCELONA (BARCELONA)

Obra Social "La Caixa" inaugurated at Gijón (Spain) in July 2009 the¨"Erase una vez... ¡El habla!" itinerant exhibition, focused on explaining the origin and evolution of the speech in the human beeing.

The KaleiVoiceCope technology with some voice conversion techniques addons has been used for recreate the voice of Neanderthals. Allowing the user to transform his/her own voice to a similar voice to the one that theories believe was produced by the Neanderthal man. With the small scientific information we have about this ancestrors, we try to explain in an interactive way the difficulties that Neanderthal men had to communicate due to the difficulty to express themselves.

This itinerant instal·lation has been present in the following cities:

• Gijón, Jardines del Náutico (from 9th July 2009 to 30th August 2009)
• Burgos, Plaza España (from 22nd September 2009 to 3rd November 2009)
• Pamplona, Plaza de los Fueros (from 27th November 2009 to 10th January 2010)
• Logroño, Plaza del Ayuntamiento (from 2nd February 2010 to 3rd March 2010)
• Málaga, Plaza de la Marina (from 14th May to 22nd June 2010)
• Alicante, Passeig Marítim Platja de Sant Joan (from 16th July to 6th September 2010)
• Reus, Plaça de la Llibertat (from 28th September to 4th November 2010)
• Albacete, Parque de Abelardo Sánchez. Colegio de San Fernando (from 3rd February to 16th March 2011)
• Badajoz, Memoria de Menacho (from 7th April to 19th May 2011)
• Palencia, Carpa instalada en el Parque del Salón (from 1st June to 1st July 2011)
• Gandía, Explanada del puerto de Gandía (from 10th July to 9th September 2011)
• León, Avenida de los Reyes Leoneses (from 22nd September to 3rd November 2011)
• Santander, Plaza de Alfonso XIII (from 24th November 2011 to 11th January 2012)
• Oviedo, carpa instalada en la Cubierta de Renfe - La Losa (from 31st January to 1st March 2012)
• Jaén, Plaza del antiguo campo de futbol, calle Virgen de la Cabeza (from 27th March to 27th April 2012)
• Granada (from 16th May to 28th June 2012)