Method and Device for Verifying a User

• US 20100114573A1
• Filed: 10/30/2008
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Ya-Xin, Bao, Qingfeng, Huang, Wei
• Application Number:
  US12/261,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20100114573A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/250
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/24 the user being prompted to utter a password or a predefined phrase

Abstract

A method and electronic device for verifying a user provides for secure speaker verification. The method includes activating a speaker verification process on the electronic device (step 305). A character string is then provided to a user of the electronic device in response to activating the speaker verification process (step 310). Next, an input utterance received from the user within a predetermined time period after providing the character string to the user is processed (step 315). The input utterance is then matched with the character string (step 320) and with stored speech data (step 325). The user is thus verified when the input utterance matches both the character string and the stored speech data.

Claims

1. A method for verifying a user of an electronic device, the method comprising:

activating a speaker verification process on the electronic device;

providing a character string to a user of the electronic device in response to activating the speaker verification process;

processing an input utterance received from the user within a predetermined time period after providing the character string to the user;

matching the input utterance with the character string; and

matching the input utterance with stored speech data;

whereby the user is verified when the input utterance matches both the character string and the stored speech data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored speech data are derived from training utterances received from the user during an enrollment process.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored speech data comprise a speaker model of the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored speech data comprise Gaussian mixture models.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the character string is a random alphanumeric string selected by the speaker verification process.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the character string is an alphanumeric string selected by the speaker verification process from a group of alphanumeric strings.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the character string is provided to the user on a display screen of the electronic device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the input utterance is received at a microphone of the electronic device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is language independent.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the speaker verification process is activated in response to a prompt received from the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined time period is less than 30 seconds.

12. An electronic device for verifying a user, comprising:

computer readable program code components for activating a speaker verification process on the electronic device;

computer readable program code components for providing a character string to a user of the electronic device in response to activating the speaker verification process;

computer readable program code components for processing an input utterance received from the user within a predetermined time period after providing the character string to the user;

computer readable program code components for matching the input utterance with the character string; and

computer readable program code components for matching the input utterance with stored speech data;

whereby the user is verified when the input utterance matches both the character string and the stored speech data.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the stored speech data are derived from training utterances received from the user during an enrollment process.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein the stored speech data comprise a speaker model of the user.

15. The device of claim 12, wherein the stored speech data comprise Gaussian mixture models.

16. The device of claim 12, wherein the character string is a random alphanumeric string selected by the speaker verification process.

17. The device of claim 12, wherein the character string is an alphanumeric string selected by the speaker verification process from a group of alphanumeric strings.

18. The device of claim 12, wherein the character string is provided to the user on a display screen of the electronic device.

19. The device of claim 12, wherein the predetermined time period is less than 30 seconds.

20. The device of claim 12, wherein the method is language independent.