Researchers in Edinburgh are advertising for identical twins and professional impostors to test speaker verification technology. The team at Edinburgh University, funded by a consortium of UK and US communications and banking firms, is developing technology to enable users to identify themselves over the telephone for services such as banking.
Scheduled for commercial availability midway through next year, the voiceprint software recognizes not only the voice pattern but also the words used, enabling a customer to use a password of their choice. Professor Mervyn Jack at the university’s Department of Electronics and Electrical says the software needs to be tested for several months.
The team is testing the software for any kind of sound distortion, from illness or extraneous noise. We’re hoping lots of people pick up colds, Jack says. Mimicry is also on the agenda. Jack is on the lookout for professional impersonators and impostors from the theatrical world to see whether the software can be tricked. Identical twins though, offer the highest error rates, as their physiological characteristics are the same, and they are likely to have developed the same voice through background, education and geographic area.
Jack’s team is due to report in February on the results of the testing. After that, the companies will all have access to the technology for their own use. They include UK carriers British Telecommunications and Cable & Wireless, US voice software specialists Nuance Communications and Periphonics, French systems integrator Cap Gemini, and UK financial institutions Halifax Building Society and Lloyds-TSB.
