Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow has turned to groundbreaking tech to keep his Yorkshire accent - even though he now talks through a computer.
Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in December 2019, only a couple of years after he ended his playing career as captain of Leeds. Since the diagnosis, he has lost the ability to walk and now has to communicate through a keyboard controlled by his eyes.
Earlier today, Rob made a heartbreaking admission on BBC Breakfast about how difficult he finds it to not be a "normal" dad to his children. Despite his struggles, he is keen to raise awareness of his condition and will appear in a second documentary on BBC2 this evening.
Read More: Police lockdown Leeds street and swarm Vintage Cash Cow after shop is sent a grenade in the post
Rob learned early on that his voice would be one of the first things he would lose, and to prepare his family for this, he has pre-recorded messages for his children - he has recorded important phrases such as 'I love you'.
But despite his illness battle, Rob has been able to 'keep his voice' through technology developed a couple of years ago by researchers at a university.
Many people who have suffered speech loss through MND or stroke, currently use predictive text-to-speech systems, but these are slow and only produce around 10 words per minute.
Scott Wellington, a PhD researcher at the University of Bath, helped develop a synthetic voice for Rob. Scott and his team did this by taking data from his media appearances and interviews and using AI to recreate his voice, including the Yorkshire accent.
Rob has been very open about his diagnosis, speaking to The Mirror in 2020, he said: "My voice will go first, so I’m recording a few important phrases on my phone like, ‘I love you’.
"And for my kids, ‘stop doing that’ and ‘get down’ because they’re normal things I say as a dad. I also need lots of laughter.”
The new system will be shown in the documentary, titled Rob Burrow: Living with MND, which will air on BBC2 and BBC iPlayer at 7pm tonight (Tuesday, October 18).
Read next:
Black History Month globes to be installed in Leeds street to educate people on slavery
Man killed in A58 Wetherby Road crash in Leeds as four rushed to hospital and 23-year-old arrested
Leeds pub crowned winner of best Sunday roast in UK for second time
Man dies falling from multi-storey car park in Leeds city centre
