Innovative Minds: Kaavya Tatavarty

Seven Hills School | 8th grade grade | 13 years old

Hear Me Out - Hyper-personalized Speech Recognition and Synthesis for the Speech Impaired

About the Idea

Imagine how you would feel if your mind was bursting with ideas but your mouth was struggling to let them out. This problem is all too familiar for 7.5 million people in the United States and 18.5 million people around the world who struggle with speech disabilities. In fact, 1 out of 12 children in the United States deals with some speech impairment, many of them stemming from conditions like down-syndrome, child apraxia of speech, or types of muscular dystrophy.

Why did you enter the 3M Young Scientist Challenge?

I thought it would be a great opportunity to work on my tech skills and bring my ideas to life as well as possibly get the opportunity to work with a mentor and improve my project.

What is your favorite invention of the last 100 years, and why?

My favorite invention in the last 100 years is the high-speed internet. The internet enables people all over the world to communicate with each other. It also provides endless information and access to resources.

In 15 years I hope to be...

In 15 years I hope to be working on big problems for humanity and using science to make life better for others. I want to use technology to explore the depths of space and understand the world better than before.