Wiring telephone apparatus from computer-generated speech

Tape-recorded, spoken wiring instructions eliminate the need for a wireman to divert his eyes and hands from the equipment he is fabricating. A computer technique is described for automatically converting printed wire lists to synthetic speech. The technique was used to synthesize spoken wire lists for crossbar-4 equipment, and the result was tested informally on a production line at the Western Electric Company plant in Oklahoma City. No errors were made in wiring crossbar-4 circuitry from the computer-synthesized instructions.