Microsoft taught voice assistant to recognize whisper

Microsoft has patented technology that will allow the voice assistant to recognize the user's whisper. The company believes that the development will allow people to use speech recognition systems in public places, without being afraid to share private information with strangers.

The overwhelming majority of users of voice assistants use them only at home - in public places they are afraid to accidentally give their personal information to random passersby: for example, their home address, personal preferences or credit card number.

Microsoft offered a solution to this problem - engineers taught the neural network to recognize the user's whisper. It is assumed that the system can be installed in smart watches, smartphones and tablets.

However, the system has a significant disadvantage - it is necessary to pronounce the words while exhaling at a distance of 2-3 mm from the device’s microphone, the publication notes.

Earlier it was reported that hackers can crack voice assistants with the help of sounds indistinguishable to a person’s ears. Such sounds can be broadcast on television or radio and disguised as usual - for example, the singing of birds.

hightech.fm