Invisible Biometrics Month: 4 Unique Applications Of Voice Biometrics
Invisible biometrics are primarily defined as authentication and identification that is frictionless. As such, voice recognition is a natural fit for for this specialized subset of biometric technologies. As a hands-free security solution, voice biometrics require the least possible physical effort on behalf of a user, while in an identification capacity the technology can run unseen in the background of phone calls and even on your new TV. Further building its case as an invisible modality is the fact that the human voice can’t be captured by a camera.
Today, as part of Invisible Biometrics Month we are going to look at four unique applications of this powerful and frictionless identity technology.
AGNITiO Voice ID Helps Catch Crooks With Morpho
While fingerprints are the classic icon of forensics, and facial recognition is hogging the spotlight in law enforcement these days, voice biometrics play an important role in criminal investigations. That’s why early this year AGNITiO’s Voice ID technology was added to the line of criminal ID biometric products offered by Morpho (Safran). Morpho’s Criminal Justice Suite already provided support for the physical identifiers like palmprints, facial data and DNA, and by partnering with AGNITiO a new invisible modality bolstered the offering.
What makes AGNITiO’s Voice ID particularly well suited for Criminal ID, especially when deployed internationally, is the fact that it is language agnostic. The traits measured in a given voice sample are biological, expressed through the actual sound of a suspect’s voice rather than the shape of the words they are saying.
In this law enforcement capacity, Voice ID allows investigators to identify suspects and run background checks, as well as positively ID wanted criminals when evidence is limited to voiceprints.
Further reading:
Morpho and AGNITiO Partner, Bring Voice Biometrics to Criminal ID
SpeechPro Technology Defends Us From Disease
The healthcare space is one that requires a substantial amount of security without the sacrifice of convenience. As we explored in our Healthcare Month featured articles, this balance between high security and frictionless usage can mean all the difference when lives are on the line along with valuable personal documents. There is another benefit that biometric tech can bring to hospitals, however, and it is specific to hands free modalities like voice.
Just this week, SpeechPro USA announced that, in partnership with PenRad, it has pioneered a solution designed to mitigate the spread of healthcare associated infections (HAI’s) like the notorious C. difficile and other deadly, antibiotic resistant vectors. The solution fights germs the old fashioned way, by limiting the surfaces medical pros come in contact with. A user enrolls in the app and is provided with secure, hands-free interface via tablet, handset or smartwatch, entering data via dictation while being continuously verified as an authorized person.
Further Reading:
SpeechPro Biometrics Keep Health Spaces Safe
VoiceVault Brings Accountability To Driver Certification
Cheating on tests has become easier than ever thanks to mobile and IT technologies, especially when remote learning is concerned. That’s why Texas-based e-learning company Aceable has chosen to implement VoiceVault’s ViGo mobile technology: to ensure integrity in its testing and certification activities.
When students sign up for Aceable’s driver certification program, they enroll their voice with ViGo. After that, students are prompted at random intervals to repeat a phrase and have their biometrics matched to ensure that they are actually the ones taking the test. If three failures occur, indicating that another person is taking the enrolled student’s assignments, the account is locked. It’s a simple and elegant solution to a difficult problem, and ViGo was apparently so perfect for the job that Aceable didn’t even shop around, they just went with VoiceVault’s invisible ID solution.
Further Reading:
VoiceVault Mobile System Adds Credibility to Driver Certification App
Sensory Helps Devices Distinguish Between Speakers
A new software development kit from Sensory, called TrulySecure, runs in two modes, allowing for passive or active biometric authentication. Like other Sensory technology, the voice recognition in the new software becomes more accurate the more it is used to authenticate. Where it stands apart though, is its ability to switch between user profiles on the fly by recognizing who is speaking.
The applications for TrulySecure are both wide ranging and obvious. As the Internet of Things makes its way into the homes of consumers and voice becomes the favored method of interfacing, allowing connected tech to distinguish between voices will be essential. The same goes for connected car technology and hands free mobile device interfacing. Sensory’s other software solutions have already been integrated into IoT applications, perhaps the most novel of which is the Jibo social robot, which uses TrulyNatural speech recognition technology as part of a robust artificial intelligence platform.
Further Reading:
TrulySecure Lets Devices Distinguish Between Speakers
Sensory Releases TrulyNatural, Licenses It For Social Robot
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Stay with FindBiometrics throughout the rest of July as we continue to delve deeper into the world of invisible biometrics. Join in the conversation by following us on Twitter and using the hashtag #FBinvisible.
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July 22, 2015 – by Peter B. Counter
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