A US-based firm Nuance Communications, Inc has released Nuance Forensics, a voice biometrics product. It’s for forensic and law enforcement use in criminal investigations, as well as with the prosecution and defence of suspects. This tool uses Nuance’s patented voice biometrics to assist in confirming or denying the identity of individuals based on audio files, used during investigations. Unlike less precise identification techniques, such as a line-up, wherein suspects are identified based on a witness’ visual memory, voice biometrics delivers the makers claim accurate and unique identifying characteristics, akin to DNA and fingerprint evidence, to help assist investigations.
According to the company, law enforcers no longer need to waste investigative resources listening to hours of audio recordings collected during investigations. Instead, the product pinpoints the conversations of interest by filtering out from the audio recordings those that do not include the suspect’s voice.
Data obtained through forensics analysis with voice biometrics includes forensic standards-based reports, such as log likelihood ratios and tippet plots, to empirically establish the strength of the audio evidence in court.
Robert Weideman, executive vice president and general manager for the Nuance Enterprise Division, said: “Nuance Forensics is truly transformative technology for law enforcement officials and forensic experts. They now have a powerful tool to assess voice evidence. Built upon proven, patented voice biometric technologies that are used worldwide, Nuance Forensics makes it easier to work with audio evidence during investigations as well as in court, and will allow officials to spend more time focusing their energies on what they do best – preventing and prosecuting criminal activity. Just as importantly, the same technologies will ensure that innocent people are effectively cleared of wrongdoing through empirical and accurate analysis of voice evidence.”
The product also has algorithms to automatically identify dialect and language spoken in a recording, as well as the gender of the speaker(s). These capabilities enable investigators to identify relevant conversations without the need for language interpreters or manual review of hours of recordings, according to the firm. Visit: www.nuance.com
