We have recently returned from INTERSPEECH 2023, one of the most prestigious conferences in the field of speech communication technology. Forensic specialist, Bryony Nuttall, attended on our behalf where she presented her research about ASR. Read more about her experience.

Exploring the Latest Advancements in ASR

It was an exciting week attending my first INTERSPEECH conference. This year’s event was hosted in Dublin where researchers and industry professionals from around the world congregated to discuss important developments within the field of speech technology. I presented my research that I completed as part of my MSc degree about Automatic Speaker Recognition (ASR) performance with bilingual female speech data. My talk was the final presentation in the ‘Interfacing Speech Technology and Phonetics’ session, where I was joined by academics from Austria, the Netherlands and the UK who presented other interesting research about speech and speaker recognition systems. The presentation went well and invited questions about the future of automation in casework practice, the limitations of forensic recordings and the analysis of non-English speech.

Engaging Conversations and New Connections

One of the most rewarding aspects of attending a conference like INTERSPEECH was the opportunity to interact with other researchers and practitioners who share similar passions for language, speech, and technology inside and outside the field of forensics. For example, it was interesting to learn about how the integration of speech technology in healthcare is assisting with earlier cancer detection, as well as how software developments in speech technology are improving child and adult education across the world.  You can learn more in the conference programme.

All work, no play?

No conference is ever complete without an exciting social calendar, and INTERSPEECH 2023 was no different. The conference closing party was hosted in the Guinness Storehouse, where attendees could learn about the process of creating one of Ireland’s most successful exports, as well as how to pour the perfect pint! It was a friendly atmosphere where researchers, industry professionals and students could mingle in an informal environment and continue the discussions from earlier in the day over beautiful views of the city.

INTERSPEECH 2023 truly showcased the immense potential and continuous advancements in speech technology, reinforcing the importance of harnessing the power of language in our ever-evolving technological world. If you’d like to read my paper, visit https://bit.ly/3YX18Yv or contact me at bryony.nuttall@forensicvoicecentre.com.