Ambitious technical projects require close cooperation between all partners. At its consortium meeting in Cologne, the LAOLA consortium defined the common goals for spring 2024.
Speech therapy, artificial intelligence, innovative UX: the success of LAOLA depends on excellence in diverse areas of expertise. To ensure that the project result is ultimately more than the sum of its parts, the LAOLA partners meet every year to exchange ideas in person. At the consortium meetings, they evaluate the progress of the project and the quality of the interim results. They also set the course for the further project and determine important next steps.
Everything according to plan
In November 2023, the LAOLA partners met for a 2-day conference in the training rooms of ProLog GmbH in Cologne. Most of the discussions focused on the start of the first LAOLA study. As part of this, data will be collected from test subjects with healthy voices in order to train the machine learning algorithm behind LAOLA. In addition, the usability of the first app prototype will be put tested. Study start is in Q1 2024. Minor adjustments and technical features still need to be finalized, then the individual software components of the LAOLA solution will be ready for implementation in their test field. The project partners are right on schedule.
Roadmap to research success
The consortium used the second day of the meeting to look ahead into the future of the project. The design of the second LAOLA study was discussed intensively. Here the partners will hand out their digital voice training app to real patients via speech therapy practices, who are to practice independently. Study Two thus represents the validation of the LAOLA solution under real-life circumstances.
In addition to the technical discussions – including keynote speeches on ethics and LAOLA’s AI – there was also time for a trip to Cologne’s Christmas market and dinner together in a brewery. The obligatory group photo rounds out the partner activities at LAOLA’s second annual consortium meeting.
