A new technique for representing speech articulation with
an ultrasound-driven finite element model of the tongue is
presented. By using a snake contour extraction algorithm
with anatomically motivated constraints and a common
coordinate system between the ultrasound and the tongue
model, it is possible for the first time to obtain a realistic 3D
simulation of the tongue directly from a non-invasive sensor
(ultrasound), without mapping through any intermediate
sensor modalities, and at near real-time frame rates.