Domain Dynamics and Consult Hyperion develop voice authentication solutions for smart card and PDA security

Citation

(2001), "Domain Dynamics and Consult Hyperion develop voice authentication solutions for smart card and PDA security", Sensor Review, Vol. 21 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2001.08721cab.002

Domain Dynamics and Consult Hyperion develop voice authentication solutions for smart card and PDA security

Domain Dynamics and Consult Hyperion develop voice authentication solutions for smart card and PDA securityKeywords: Biometrics, Voice reconstruction

What better security for m-commerce and the vulnerable mobile office than smart card enabled devices and personal digital assistants (PDAs) that permit access only in response to their rightful owner's voice? Simple, reliable solutions of this kind could soon be demonstrated as a result of a new licensing agreement between Consult Hyperion, an IT management consultancy specialising in smart card and e-commerce security systems, and Domain Dynamics Limited, signal processing and speech recognition specialist.

The licence permits Consult Hyperion to use Domain Dynamics' patented TESPAR technology to develop and demonstrate a range of solutions that combine voice authentication and other security processes to deliver smart card- and PDA-based systems that positively verify a user's claimed identity (see Plate 2).

Plate 2 Professor Reg King is executive chairman and founder of Domain Dynamics Limited, and the inventor of TESPAR

Neil Garner, Head of Prototyping and Development at Consult Hyperion Limited, said:

Speech communication is natural to us – so authenticating a person's identity by analysing their voice print is the most intuitive and acceptable form of biometric verification. Augmenting our existing technologies and expertise with Domain Dynamics' TESPAR software will allow us to prototype exceptionally user-friendly and secure e-commerce systems. TESPAR signal processing technology is outstanding in its compactness, efficiency and reliability under real-life noisy conditions. It is ideal for authentication and recognition on devices such as smart cards and PDAs.

Consult Hyperion is planning to create prototypes demonstrating how Internet PC and pocket PC devices may be used with multi-application smart cards having a voice authenticated digital identity. Such prototypes would point the way towards true end-to-end security for mobile commerce – something lacking in current systems.

Martin George, sales manager at Domain Dynamics Limited, explains:

After successfully porting our voice authentication code and user templates to standard 8 bit, 8k Java Cards, we were looking for an expert partner to integrate and demonstrate our identity verification with emerging security technologies. Consult Hyperion has the expertise we require in the areas of cryptography, PKI and digital certificate processes to complement the speech biometric implementation of our TESPAR technology. Its impressive track record of delivering smart card and e-commerce solutions to blue-chip clients and unrivalled blend of customer insight and development capability makes Consult Hyperion an ideal partner for us to work with.

The new licence with Consult Hyperion complements Domain Dynamics' other licensing arrangements, including ET Voice (a subsidiary of European Telecom plc) which is incorporating TESPAR-based voice authentication and word recognition technology in mobile phone handsets, and Earthport plc which is adding speaker verification to Internet-based payment system as an extra security measure.

TESPAR technical note

TESPAR codes waveforms by dividing the waveform into sections based on the real and complex zero locations, mathematically defining three basic descriptors – shape, duration and amplitude. Each set of descriptors produces a symbol and a TESPAR alphabet of only 29 symbols has been developed to characterise any signal. The process for describing and classifying signals can take as little as 200 lines of assembly code and has been embodied on an industry standard eight-bit microprocessor.

General enquiries: Martin George, Sales Manager, Domain Dynamics Limited, HL 12 Cranfield University, Shrivenham, Swindon, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1793 782793; Fax: +44 (0)1793 782008; E-mail: martin.george@ ddl.co.uk; Web site: www.ddl.co.uk