Mongolian Text-to-Speech Interfaces (National Firm) - Reference No. C16
1. Project Background
The
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MLSP) of Mongolia aims to develop a
Mongolian Text-to-Speech (TTS) software system and deliver it to visually impaired
people who speak in Mongolian to improve an accessibility. The Mongolian
Text-to-Speech (TTS) software system comprises of the C15: Mongolian
speech-to-text synthesis software, C16: Mongolian Text-to-Speech Interfaces,
and C17: Mongolian Text-to-Speech Corpus.
The software system will run on the major operating systems like
Windows, Linux, Android, MacOS, and iOS, and consists of three main components:
a) a speech synthesizer that provides core functionalities to convert Mongolian
Cyrillic text to Khalkha dialects, b) screen reader interface programs that
separately run on such operating systems and c) high-quality speech corpora of
multiple speakers.
The MLSP (the Client) is seeking a local organization (the Consulting firm) to develop the Mongolian text-to-speech synthesis software, library files that run offline, have a small footprint, and with the fast generation of high-quality speech. The MLSP will select the qualified consultant following ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants.
2. Purpose of the Assignment
The MLSP (the Client) is seeking a local organization (the Consulting firm) to develop the Mongolian text-to-speech synthesis software, library files that run offline, have a small footprint, and with the fast generation of high-quality speech. The MLSP will select the qualified consultant following ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants.
3.
Consulting
Firm’s Qualifications
The Consulting firm shall meet the following requirements:
a. At
least 5 years of experience in software development (Experiences in Natural
Language Processing (NLP) will be an advantage)
b. Experience
in the development of screen reader and related software
c. Experience
with NVDA, Voice Over, Orca screen readers
d. Experience
in interfacing TTS synthesizer to screen readers (Experiences in the Mongolian
language will be an advantage)
e. Experience
in development of TTS synthesizer and similar ones (Experiences in the
Mongolian language will be an advantage)
f. Experience
in Android and iOS application development
g. At
least 3 years of experience in R&D in assistive technology
h. Will
have an advantage if has experience in implementation of TTS for embedded
devices (Experiences in the Mongolian language will be an advantage)
i. Experience
in working with people with visual impairment and have a strong understanding
in respect of needs, required assistive technologies, specially TTS
j. Experience
in training for people with visual disabilities
k. Text-to-speech
interfaces are subject to copyright under the Client. The consultant shall
wholly transfer the Copyright of the interfaces.
l.
The company should have the below specialists as a minimum requirement for the entire assignment:
1.
Principal
Investigator/ Team Leader
2.
Windows
software developer
3.
Linux
and Android software developer
4.
MacOS
and iOS software developer
5.
Trainer
Please find the detailed
Terms of Reference (TOR) for the consultancy service on ADB’s Consultant
management system (CMS).
Only online submission
of EOIs will be accepted. EOIs lacking required documents will be disqualified
from evaluation. Only short-listed candidate will be contacted.
For more information on
the assignment and submission, please contact the Project Implementation Unit:
Loan 3605/
Grant 9191-MON: Ensuring Inclusiveness and Service Delivery for Persons with
Disabilities Project
Ulaanbaatar city, Chingeltei District, United Nations
Street -5,
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, 1st
floor
+976-77335577