State-of-the-art in speaker recognition

Recent advances in speech technologies have produced new tools that can be used to improve the performance and flexibility of speaker recognition. While there are few degrees of freedom or alternative methods when using fingerprint or iris identification techniques, speech offers much more flexibility and different levels to perform recognition: the system can force the user to speak in a particular manner, different for each attempt to enter. Also, with voice input, the system has other degrees of freedom, such as the use of knowledge/codes that only the user knows, or dialectical/semantical traits that are difficult to forge. This paper offers an overview of the state-of-the-art in speaker recognition, with special emphasis on the pros and cons, and the current research lines. The current research lines include improved classification systems, and the use of high level information by means of probabilistic grammars. In conclusion, speaker recognition is far away from being a technology where all the possibilities have already been explored.