Consumers gain voice power

Listen to me: Voice could replace passwords

Imagine if your bank or the other companies you deal with on a regular basis could instantly recognise you on the phone, eliminating the need to answer a list of identification questions.

Systems that allow just that to happen have been developed by a raft of companies keen to cash in on the power of the human voice.

It is set to be big business. Voice-enabled software will be worth $452m by 2004 according to research firm Datamonitor.

One company, Nuance, has developed software that creates the vocal equivalent of a fingerprint.

Distinctive print

"First we create a voiceprint by recording samples of a voice, the chop them up into hundreds of chunks of speech and perform mathematics on them," explained Nuance's speech technology expert David Jones to the BBC's Go Digital programme.

Jones: System recognises his voice

The set of equations used in speech technology is able to sort vocal characteristics.

The result is software that can instantly recognise your speech, even if you have a cold or have lost your voice.

"It will not be fooled by anyone pretending to be you," assured Mr Jones.

For governments around the world, keen to introduce biometric-enabled ID cards to keep an eye on citizens, voice-authentication technology could prove a valuable tool.

Prisons in the US are already using such software to keep track of prisoners released on parole.

It is thought voice-recognition technology could even have played a part in identifying al-Qaeda suspect Ramzi Binalshibh, recently extradited from Pakistan to the US.

Forget your password

But it will be in the commercial arena where the real money is to be made, say analysts.

Voice-enabled systems will prove far more convenient and speedy for consumers and provide an answer to the bugbear of forgotten passwords said Datamonitor analyst Dan Hawkins.

Datamonitor estimates that up to 70% of calls made to computer help desks are related to forgotten PIN numbers.

Security problems

Nuance has already done deals with Banco Bradesco in Brazil and an Australian mobile phone company to provide customers with an easy way to access bank details and top up their mobile phones.

However, none of the solutions currently available are likely to prove any more secure than traditional systems.

"If the threshold for accuracy is set too high, then people who should be allowed into the system will be denied which would be very irritating for customers," said Mr Hawkins.

To avoid this, accuracy thresholds are reduced.

"At the moment most systems aren't quite as good as they need to be," he said.