MEDIA RELEASE *For Immediate Release* …

MEDIA RELEASE




*For Immediate Release*                           Total: 4 pages including this page




    I2R voiceprint technology clinches number one spot at US standards
                                 agency rankings


    ·   The Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) team beat 45 international
        institutions to emerge 1st in the National Institute of Standards and
        Technology 2008 Speaker Recognition Evaluation


Singapore, 15 August 2008 - Ever wondered how pranksters who make hoax
calls to emergency services can be identified and brought to justice? Now there's
a technology that can identify and spot the culprit easily by analyzing voices
from a regular phone system that most people make phone calls from.


A*STAR's Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) has invented a technology that
can do just that! The Speech and Dialogue Processing team in I2R beat 45 other
international institutions and topped the scores to emerge No. 1 in the National
Institute of Standards and Technology 1 (NIST) 2008 Speaker Recognition
Evaluation.


NIST's annual benchmarking provides a worldwide platform for the calibration of
speech technology capabilities participated by academia and the leading
institutions from the industry.       The benchmarking results recognize I2R's
voiceprint technology as the state-of-the-art technology in terms of accuracy
through a series of tests using real-world data. The technology is now able to
detect up to 97% accuracy between two voices as to ascertain whether they are


1
 The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), USA, develops technologies,
measurement methods and standards that help US companies compete in the global
marketplace. The US Congress created NIST in 1901 at the start of the industrial
revolution to provide the measurement and standards needed to resolve and prevent
disputes over trade and to encourage standardization.
from the same speaker. This allows for the verification of voiceprints for large
scale deployment in adverse acoustic environments.

Professor Lye Kin Mun, Deputy Executive Director (Research) said, "I2R has
always been pitching our own capabilities in technology against other industry
players through participation in global challenges. It is through this that we can
learn more and improve ourselves, eventually winning international acclaim."

The I2R team is led by Dr Haizhou Li, Department Head of Human Language
Technology, with members, Bin Ma, Hanwu Sun, Donglai Zhu, Kong-Aik Lee, Khe
Chai Sim, Changhuai You, Rong Tong, Ismo Kärkkäinen, Vladimir Pervouchine,
Yijie Li and Susanto Rahardja.


                                     - END -
Background


About Fusionopolis
Fusionopolis is Singapore's science and technology hub that brings together scientists,
research engineers and technology experts from a variety of science and engineering
disciplines, to find innovative solutions for technological and lifestyle problems facing
society and jumpstart future industries.


Fusionopolis will have more than 1500 researchers from the public labs under the Agency
for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), with a broad spectrum of capabilities
ranging from high performance computing to infocomm research, data storage, materials
research and engineering, microelectronics, and manufacturing technology. The public
labs work alongside corporate labs like those of Vestas, Thales Technology and Seiko
Instruments to accelerate the development of technologies and new products, and bring
them to market.


Fusionopolis is located in close proximity to A*STAR's biomedical sciences research
institutes at Biopolis, which will open up opportunities for the fusion of capabilities across
diverse scientific domains, thus paving the way for multi-disciplinary research.


A whole-of-Singapore approach has been taken at Fusionopolis to enable it to jumpstart
future industries. Fusionopolis will also be home to Singapore's various industry-
development public agencies such as the Media Development Authority, the Economic
Development Board and SPRING Singapore.


For more information on Fusionopolis, please visit www.fusionopolis.a-star.edu.sg


About Institute for Infocomm Research

The Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R - pronounced as i-squared-r) is a member of
the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) family. Established in 2002,
our mission is to be the globally preferred source of innovations in `Interactive Secured
Information, Content and Services Anytime Anywhere' through research by passionate
people dedicated to Singapore's economic success.

I²R performs R&D in information, communications and media (ICM) technologies to
develop holistic solutions across the ICM value chain. Our research capabilities are in
information technology and science, wireless and optical communications, and interactive
digital media.
We seek to be the infocomm and media value creator that keeps Singapore ahead.
Website: www.i2r.a-star.edu.sg



About NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology develops technologies, measurement
methods and standards that help U.S. companies compete in the global marketplace.
Congress created NIST in 1901 at the start of the industrial revolution to provide the
measurement and standards needed to resolve and prevent disputes over trade and to
encourage standardization. For more information, please visit www.nist.gov




For media enquiries, please contact:
Mr Andrew Yap
Acting Manager, Corporate Communications
Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R)
DID: (65) 6419 1143     Fax: (65) 6466 7716
Email: jtyap@i2r.a-star.edu.sg