Smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices may soon be operated truly hands-free with the announcement of a new voice verification technology from speech technology firm Sensory.

The technology, which Sensory has just revealed to be already available, adds another layer of security to your device since it creates a unique voice print for users.

This means that a device equipped with such technology will only wake up if the speaker is the owner of the device.

The technology is simple: the owner of the mobile device will set a voice password called a voice wake up word which unlocks the device after the technology verifies the identity of the speaker.

Voice control is prevalent in smartphones nowadays, with the most popular being Apple’s Siri which debuted in the iPhone 4S.

However, Android has also had voice control software for a long time and so has Microsoft’s Windows Phone mobile operating system.

In fact, Google has been reported to be making a software or feature for Android called Majel which is aimed to challenge Siri and take advantage of Android’s already well-established voice system.

On the other hand, Microsoft is also said to be developing Ask Ziggy to compete with Siri, even as the Redmond, Washington-based software giant has already claimed that Siri-like functionality has long been in Windows Phone.

However, even before you get to the voice control features of iOS, Android or Windows Phone, you still need to unlock your phone using your hands either by pressing a button, swiping on the home screen, typing in a password, drawing a pattern, making a gesture or a combination the actions mentioned.

The technology Sensory is proposing can eliminate this prelude to controlling your device with your voice since the unlocking will also be done by voice.

This will make devices truly hands-free, so to speak. In fact, that seems to be the goal of the firm as they own a trademark on “TrulyHandsfree”.

“Mobile devices still require tactile interactions before users can enable voice recognition and voice control functions,” Sensory CEO Todd Mozer said in a statement provided to Social Barrel.

“Combining voice activation and speaker verification enables mobile devices to be easier, more secure, safer, and more convenient to use and access information,” he added.

Just how secure is this technology? For those who are wary that someone might just tape their voice to unlock their mobile device with at a later time, Sensory says that its verification solution is a sophisticated technology that uses voice biometrics and analysis to authenticate a specific individual.

“Using a unique phrase both for user authentication and as a wake-up word makes a lot of sense from the wireless subscriber’s perspective,” Opus Research Senior Analyst Dan Miller said.

“Rapid, effortless authentication should be a boon to secure mobile search, shopping, banking and protection of personal data on mobile devices,” he explained further.

Furthermore, Sensory aims to integrate their technology within a chip which goes into mobile devices which will make it less power-hungry than software solely running on the operating system of the device.

Sensory also aims to integrate its TrulyHandsfree technology not just in mobile devices like smartphones, tablets and the like but also in robotics, security, home control, virtual assistant field, automotive and more.

Those excited to see what’s in store with this newly-announced technology can catch Sensory at the CTIA Wireless show in New Orleans which starts next Tuesday and runs through to Thursday as the company will demonstrate their technology there.

On a lesser serious note, Sensory says that its speaker verification solution is text-dependent meaning it requires the user to speak a predetermined verification and/or wake-up phrase preset by the mobile manufacturer and activated by the user.

This means that the Sensory tech will not involve any funny or embarrassing wakeup words, for those of you who are wondering.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irmfzbVsMq8

Image 1 from Photo Giddy on Flickr (CC) // Photo 2 from Sensory

About Solon Harmony Dolor

A passion for technology and journalism makes this upcoming writer very interested in social media and technology news. Fresh from finishing an English and Journalism degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman, he aims to bring interesting news to our readers .