Spoken term detection ALBAYZIN 2014 evaluation: overview, systems, results, and discussion

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13636-015-0063-8Spoken term detection (STD) aims at retrieving data from a speech repository given a textual representation of the search term. Nowadays, it is receiving much interest due to the large volume of multimedia information. STD differs from automatic speech recognition (ASR) in that ASR is interested in all the terms/words that appear in the speech data, whereas STD focuses on a selected list of search terms that must be detected within the speech data. This paper presents the systems submitted to the STD ALBAYZIN 2014 evaluation, held as a part of the ALBAYZIN 2014 evaluation campaign within the context of the IberSPEECH 2014 conference. This is the first STD evaluation that deals with Spanish language. The evaluation consists of retrieving the speech files that contain the search terms, indicating their start and end times within the appropriate speech file, along with a score value that reflects the confidence given to the detection of the search term. The evaluation is conducted on a Spanish spontaneous speech database, which comprises a set of talks from workshops and amounts to about 7 h of speech. We present the database, the evaluation metrics, the systems submitted to the evaluation, the results, and a detailed discussion. Four different research groups took part in the evaluation. Evaluation results show reasonable performance for moderate out-of-vocabulary term rate. This paper compares the systems submitted to the evaluation and makes a deep analysis based on some search term properties (term length, in-vocabulary/out-of-vocabulary terms, single-word/multi-word terms, and in-language/foreign terms).This work has been partly supported by project CMC-V2 (TEC2012-37585-C02-01) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. This research was also funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the Galician Regional Government (GRC2014/024, “Consolidation of Research Units: AtlantTIC Project” CN2012/160)

Online adaptace akustického modelu na řečníka s využitím systému pro rozpoznávání obličejů

We have proposed and evaluated a novel approach for online speaker adaptation of an acoustic model based on face recognition. Instead of traditionally used audio-based speaker identification we investigated the video modality for the task of speaker detection. A simulated on-line transcription created by a Large-Vocabulary Continuous Speech Recognition (LVCSR) system for online subtitling is evaluated utilizing speaker independent acoustic models, gender dependent models and models of particular speakers. In the experiment, the speaker dependent acoustic models were trained offline, and are switched online based on the decision of a face recognizer, which reducedWord Error Rate (WER) by 12% relatively compared to speaker independent baseline system

The mechanical properties of the human lens capsule following capsulorhexis or radiofrequency diathermy capsulotomy

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the biomechanical properties of the capsulotomy edge following continuous-tear circular capsulorhexis (CTCC) or radiofrequency (RF) diathermy capsulotomy. METHODS: A test apparatus was constructed that allowed controlled stretching of capsulotomy edges following CTCC or RF diathermy capsulotomy. The lens contents were removed by phacoemulsification to permit the implantation of probes that exerted a test force on the capsulotomy edge and were moved in diametrically opposite directions using computer-controlled stepping motors. The magnitude of the force was measured during the capsule stretch, which allowed precise determination of the degree of capsular distention at the time of capsular rupture. Selected capsular edges were subsequently examined by scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: The capsulotomy edge produced by CTCC was significantly stronger (P < .001) than that following RF. The mean (+/-SD) force to achieve capsule rupture was 0.15 +/- 0.06 N with CTCC compared with 0.02 +/- 0.01 N with RF. The mean (+/-SD) increase in the capsulotomy circumference was significantly greater with CTCC at 53% +/- 14.5% compared with RF at 18% +/- 8.5% (P < .001). Scanning electron microscopy disclosed a smooth edge for the CTCC capsulotomy. In contrast, multiple irregularities were seen in the edge following RF. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous-tear circular capsulorhexis provides a stronger capsulotomy and is the preferred method in routine cataract surgery. However, RF diathermy capsulotomy may have a useful role in conditions unfavorable to the safe completion of CTCC