The grant was made on the basis that a speech-recognition chip would have applications in homeland security.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR

Besides doing away with the need to use fiddly controls on handheld computers, mobile phones and music players, a speech-recognition chip would have other uses too: it could form the basis of a powerful, portable interpreting device, for example, or allow car drivers to change radio stations or operate navigation systems by speech alone.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR

Dishman incorporated two tests that measure the strength of a patient's speech with a recording chip, and three others--a peg board, two piano keys and videogame-type buttons--that measure reaction time and speed of movement.

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