Voice Recognition Market Trends

摘要

Biometric technology has been on the market since the early 1990s and has been the subject of research and development for nearly 30 years. Voice is becoming an important niche along side other biometric techniques used for identification, including face, lip, gesture, and signature, and, as such, biometric technology is being refined by researchers around the globe. More companies are becoming vendors, making the technology much more widely available, and the price is declining, making it affordable for large, multinational businesses as well as the small home offices. IDC anticipates that the market for all biometric authentication products will reach $1.9 billion by 2004, which is more than three times the $400 million in revenue generated in 2001. Voice recognition represents about 10 percent of this figure. With increased concerns for security exacerbated by the attacks of September 11th, more companies are taking a serious interest in biometrics. Additionally, there is an economic incentive to replacing PINs, passwords, and smart cards, which are easily lost, stolen, or hacked into the wrong hands. A survey of Fortune 500 companies by the Help Desk Institute found that the average computer user must remember 40 passwords per year and 65 percent of help desk time is allocated to resetting passwords costing a minimum of $108,000 per year. Similar to a fingerprint, a voiceprint is a unique identifier generating patterns like no other person. For this reason, its value to government and corporate entities has yet to be fully realized. Because voice recognition technology is on the cutting edge, research into refinement and future uses continues in both academic circles and corporate R&D facilities alike.