LickWorX creates unique music and sound entertainment content for digital media channels. Its commercial focus is primarily web and mobile – content and applications which provide unique entertainment products.
The project
A six-month, short KTP.
The objectives
The project was aimed at creating an application that could create a personalised piece of music, for example Happy Birthday ‘Jane’ or Merry Xmas ‘Mike’, and deliver it to the desktop and/or mobile handset.
The academic associate
Name: Ryan Stables
Course: BSc Sound Engineering & Production
Programming skills: C++, PHP, MatLab, SuperCollider
Teaching: Digital Music Processing
Current PhD Title: Design of Signal Processing Algorithms for the Manipulation of the Human Voice.
Ryan is a PhD Student with a background in audio systems and signal processing. His current studies are based around manipulating human voices and synthesising sounds.
Benefits for the company
The project has allowed for research into vocal manipulation and its capability in mobile technology, opening up a number of technical and commercial applications with potential global appeal.
Outcomes
A technical platform has been developed that allows the manipulation and customisation of a synthesized voice within a music file utilising text-to-speech (TTS) technology.
This first-stage development has opened up the potential for LickWorX to become a market leader in music personalisation. The company is now planning to deliver a suite of music-based applications for the web and mobile environments. It is already in discussions with potential telecommunications partners, and is seeking investment funding to drive a significant growth programme.