Dr. Patricia Scanlon

Dr. Patricia Scanlon is the founder of SoapBox Labs, an Irish AI company that developed voice and speech recognition technology specifically designed for children. Unlike general-purpose speech recognition systems (which are trained primarily on adult voices), SoapBox's AI was purpose-built to understand the unique acoustic characteristics of children's speech — including higher pitch, less consistent pronunciation, and different speech patterns.

Scanlon holds a PhD in Electronic Engineering and spent over a decade at Bell Labs (Alcatel-Lucent) before founding SoapBox Labs. Her research in speech processing and AI led her to identify a critical gap: existing voice AI systems performed poorly with children, creating barriers to educational technology.

SoapBox's technology has applications in literacy assessment, language learning, and educational gaming — helping children learn to read and speak through voice-powered interactions. The company's privacy-first approach ensures that children's voice data is handled with the highest standards of protection.

Scanlon has been recognized as one of Ireland's most innovative entrepreneurs and is an advocate for ethical AI development in children's technology.