Vocal Tract Length

Vocal tract length (VTL) is a crucial acoustic parameter influencing speech production and perception, with research focusing on accurate estimation and its impact on various speech characteristics. Current investigations employ diverse methods, including advanced signal processing techniques (like ARMAX models and wavelet transforms), machine learning (deep neural networks and hierarchical clustering), and data augmentation strategies (speed and VTL perturbation) to improve VTL estimation from speech signals and to model its influence on speech. Understanding VTL variations across genders, ages, and languages is vital for improving speech recognition systems, particularly for diverse speaker populations, and for advancing our understanding of speech production mechanisms and disorders.