November/December 2003

Magazine Features

2003 Speech Solutions Winners

Automating Password Resets

Resetting network passwords is a time-consuming and expensive task with significant security implications.

Model Adaptation for Speaker Verification

How does a speaker verification system compensate for changes in an individual’s voice over time?

Proof is in the Applications

STM editor Dave Kaplan recaps the first ever Speech Solutions Challenge, one of the highlights of SpeechTEK 2003 held recently in New York.

Security versus Privacy

Nancy Jamison reports on a survey completed earlier this year by Jamison Consulting and BrandMarketing Services Ltd. studying the public’s awareness and acceptance of biometrics. While security is a big issue, privacy is a concern.

Voice Biometrics - Are You Who You Say You Are?

Driven in part by the 9-11 attack, a growing number of companies are incorporating speaker authentication and, in some cases, speaker identification into their offerings. Leading independent analyst Dr. Judith Markowitz looks at security applications and the increasing awareness of speaker authentication.

Deployments

Speaker Verification for Community Release

In a case study, Dr. Judith Markowitz interviews City Judge William Dupont of Iberville Parish in Plaquemine, La. Judge Dupont uses speaker verification to track juvenile defenders in the community release program.

What's Your Social?

The Government Paperwork Elimination act of 1998 requires agencies to convert to electronic formats for most transactions. Learn how the Social Security Administration conducted a "Voice Print Proof-of-Concept" study of applications using speech recognition and voice biometrics.

Editor's Letter

Fireworks!

Forward Thinking

EMMA: W3C’s Extended Multimodal Annotation Markup Language

Recently, the W3C Multimodal Working Group published a first working draft of EMMA — the Extended MultiModal Annotation markup language — EMMA (www.w3.org/TR/emma/). EMMA’s intended use is to represent the semantics for information entered via various input modalities and the resulting integrated information.

Human Factor

The Common Causes of VUI Infirmities

While most of us know the various things we should and should not do to maintain a healthy lifestyle, relatively few of us consistently comply. Such is also the case in the Voice User Interface (VUI) design world. Best design practices, for the most part, are publicly available and widely known. Yet, and perhaps for the same reason that some people think they are above the rules of diet and exercise, many Interactive Voice Response (IVR) designers seem to see themselves as immune to the illnesses that invariably plague poorly designed voice applications.

Industry View

Attitude Correction: Deconstructing Six Myths About TTS

Ever want to stop and say, hey, let's give the kid some respect? That's how I feel about TTS. Here's my contribution to giving the technology its due.