If you thought text to speech was a relatively new phenomenon – think again. In the summer of 1846 in London’s Egyptian Hall, something truly bizarre was on display for people willing to pay one shilling a person: Joseph Faber’s invention – a robotic head named Euphonia. She was the first known robot that could mimic and replicate human speech. Text-To-Speech and Euphonia Upon paying to see her, you would be led into a dim light back-room to witness an incredible, albeit slightly horrifying site, according to multiple reports about Euphonia: “In the middle of the disheveled chamber sat a piano-like instrument topped with a female automaton whose face, framed with ringlet curls, stared vacantly into the crowd. Professor Faber, a shy German astronomer-turned-inventor, stood behind the keys of his device hoping desperately that the few people in attendance would be impressed by what he was about to show them. The Euphonia was the product of 25 years of research and an undeniably impressive feat of engineering. Fourteen piano keys controlled the articulation of the Euphonia’s jaw, lips, and tongue while the roles of the lungs and larynx were performed by a bellows and an ivory reed. The operator could adjust [...]