Voice output from IBM system/360

Abstract

The IBM 7770 and 7772 and elements of the New York Stock Exchange Market Data System form a family of IBM devices providing voice output facilities. The devices function similarly in that each gives a computer-generated voice response to a dialed inquiry. The audio generation principle incorporated in the 7770 is a derivative of the original Voice Answer Back principle---that of adjusting word length to fit machine time-slots. Then by access to these words from many input lines, sentences are formed into a voice response. The 7772, on the other hand, generates audio on the "vocoder" principle---that of energizing tone filters and combining the output result first to form words and then sentences in a manner similar to that of the 7770.