TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Voice ID Gains Speed

Stan Gibson | Date: 03-15-10 | Comments

Researchers have come up with a new algorithm for establishing speech identity more quickly.

Everyone�s voice is different. But when it comes to computerized voice identification, the flash of recognition often comes too late to satisfy business and government demands. Shaving precious seconds from previous benchmarks, researchers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh have come up with a new algorithm for establishing speech identity.

�Our work makes the process more efficient, so the latency in recognition is shortened,� says Dr. Robert Rodman, professor of Computer Science at N.C. State. Typical improvement is between 8 and 15 percent faster recognition. �It might reduce 5- or 6-second latency by 1 second,� Rodman explains, adding, �Every little bit counts. If you�re a user, every second of latency has an effect.�

The research is described in a paper, �Joint Frame and Gaussian Selection for Text Independent Speaker Verification,� that will be presented at the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP) in Dallas from March 14-19.

�It�s highly mathematical�we found a method for eliminating non-matches,� Rodman states. The researchers hit upon a novel Gaussian selecton method that builds on previous voice identification work, according to Rodman. �It moves us closer to making this technology a practical, secure tool," he says.

Current computer models that are used to compare acoustic profiles by evaluating whether a speaker is who he says he is may take several seconds or more to process the information, which is still too long for the technology to gain widespread acceptance. "In order for this technology to gain traction among users, the response time needs to improve without increasing the error rate," states Rodman.

Speech authentication is of particular interest in this age of heightened security and mobile electronics. "Potential users of this technology include government, financial, health care and telecommunications industries," Rodman says, "for applications ranging from preventing ID theft and fraud to data protection."

Rodman has been working in this field for five years. The latest research was funded, in part, by the Centre for International Mobility. The research paper was co-authored by N.C. State�s Rodman; Rahim Saeidi, Tomi Kinnunen and Pasi Franti of the University of Joensuu in Finland; and Hamid Reza Sadegh Mohammadi of the Iranian Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research.