Touch to Speak: Real-Time Tactile Pronunciation Feedback for Individuals with Speech and Hearing Impairments

This study presents a wearable haptic feedback system designed to support speech training for individuals with speech and hearing impairments. The system provides real-time tactile cues based on detected phonemes, helping users correct their pronunciation independently. Unlike prior approaches focused on passive reception or therapist-led instruction, our method enables active, phoneme-level feedback using a multimodal interface combining audio input, visual reference, and spatially mapped vibrotactile output. We validated the system through three user studies measuring pronunciation accuracy, phoneme discrimination, and learning over time. The results show a significant improvement in word articulation accuracy and user engagement. These findings highlight the potential of real-time haptic pronunciation tools as accessible, scalable aids for speech rehabilitation and second-language learning.