Assistant Researcher · CENSE / NOVA FCT

Paulo Condado

Assistive technology & human–computer interaction

I design technology with people with disabilities, not just for them — drawing on my own lived experience of cerebral palsy.

Portrait of Paulo Condado
New project · AVozSpeech recognition trained to understand my own voice

New project · Preprint

AVoz: speech recognition that understands my voice

Most speech recognition is trained on typical voices and fails on mine. With Fernando Lobo, I fine-tuned an open speech model on recordings of my own speech, using consumer-grade hardware, and built AVoz, an app that turns what I say into a clear synthesised voice. The code is open source, so other people can do the same for their own voice.

Word error rate
30% down to 12%
Character error rate
16% down to 5%

Whisper large-v3 before and after fine-tuning, on 100 held-out utterances. Preprint submitted to a peer-reviewed journal; not yet peer-reviewed.

About me

What I work on

I am an Assistant Researcher at CENSE — Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, part of NOVA School of Science and Technology, funded by FCT/MECI (CEECIND/10962/2024). I hold a PhD in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (2009) and a degree in Computer Science and Business (2002), both from the University of Algarve. My work spans four areas with one goal: more independence for people with disabilities.

  • Assistive technologies

    Communication and text-entry tools that give people with motor and speech impairments a voice and more autonomy.

  • Human–computer interaction & user-centred design

    Involving disabled people as co-designers and evaluators, from defining the problem to testing the solution.

  • Smart homes & human–robot interaction

    Mobile and robotic interfaces that let people run their home independently, safely and privately.

  • Evolutionary computation & machine learning

    From genetic algorithms for land-use planning to artificial intelligence in the service of accessibility.

At a glance

  • 23years of research
  • 16publications: 15 peer-reviewed papers and a doctoral dissertation
  • 3papers at ACM ASSETS
  • 4preprints and technical reports
  • 10press and media features

Projects

Featured projects

All projects
Alumni Career Award ceremony poster, University of Algarve, 2016

Recognition

Honorable Mention, 2016 Alumni Career Award

The University of Algarve recognised my career path, from a degree in Computer Science and Business (2002) to a PhD in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (2009) and beyond.

In Portuguese

Let’s work together

I am open to research partnerships and, where I can make a difference, pro bono help:

  • Research collaborations and joint projects in accessibility
  • Co-design and user studies that benefit from the lived experience of a researcher with cerebral palsy
  • Pro bono support for non-profits, schools and families exploring assistive technology