Intel goes open source with new speech-recognition software
By Alun Williams
Posted on 29 Apr 2003 at 11:36
Intel researchers have been working on a new form of speech recognition software.
As well as processing sounds produced by a person, the system will visually process the face for further information. It will, in Intel's words, 'read lips'.
The simple premise is that this is the way humans better understand conversations. 'Intel wants to develop technology that allows computers to naturally interact with the world the way humans do,' said Justin R. Rattner, director of Intel's Microprocessor Research Labs. Human recognition is seldom based on a single type of information. We make decisions by combining information from a variety of sources.'
Specifically, Intel's Audio Visual Speech Recognition (AVSR) software is combined with face detection algorithms from Intel's OpenCV computer vision library. These detect a speaker's face and mouth movement for more accurate speech processing.
Intel also makes the point that traditional speech-recognition algorithms work best when bad noise is eliminated or a well-tuned microphone is used. This is not always a realistic requirement and the new approach helps surmount the problems. As long as the lighting is of a sufficient level, of course.
The work has been released under an open-source license, to encourage third parties to pick up the software for further research and development. Very altruistic, but of course speech processing is an area of computing yet to come to full fruition. When it does, processing power will be important. Which is where Intel comes in.
You can find more info about Intel's OpenCV 'toolbox', to which the AVSR software has now been added, at www.intel.com/research/mrl/research/opencv/index.htm.
From around the web
advertisement
- Chrome's shine getting lost in translation
- BytePac: the cardboard hard disk enclosure
- How tech loosens our grip on reality
- Hokum watch: Safer Internet Day
- Why I'm deleting Adobe from my PC
- Prepare to be patronised: it's Safer Internet Day
- Dear Sony, Samsung and every other tech company in the world: stop trying to be Apple
- Will Apple's Final Cut Pro X update placate the pros?
- Smartr Contacts for iPhone review
- Switching to Office 365's Outlook Web App
- Why virtualisation hasn't slowed the growth of data
- How to make Google AdWords work for your business
- The curse of sloppily written software
- Paying for your crimes with Bitcoin
- Behind the scenes: tech support for Formula 1
- The security risk of fat fingers
- Why Windows Phone 7 isn't quite ready for business
- When will Microsoft stop fiddling with Windows 8?
- Flash down the pan?
- Metro Style apps vs desktop applications
advertisement
