SANTA CRUZ — A robotic voice lurches into reciting a snippet of news and a pale, bald, animated head suddenly seems alive on the iPhone of Dominic Massaro, a UC Santa Cruz psychologist.

The $4.99 iPhone application is the latest step in Baldi’s evolution since Massaro created it two decades ago. Previously, the character helped hearing-impaired kids to produce and recognize sounds, helped people learn to read and helped autistic kids recognize emotion. Baldi can recite Web sites, e-mails, books and other texts. It has been featured in Newsweek and on ABC News.

“Instead of being chained to a desktop or a laptop, it can be carried with you,” said Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, who is not associated with the product. “It’s a great business decision.”

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_13915189