This document specifies a data interchange format that can be used for storing, recording, and transmitting digitized acoustic human voice data (speech) assumed to be from a single speaker recorded in a single session. This format is designed specifically to support a wide variety of Speaker Identification and Verification (SIV) applications, both text-dependent and text-independent, with minimal assumptions made regarding the voice data capture conditions or the collection environment. Other uses for the data encapsulated in this format, such as automated speech recognition (ASR), may be possible, but are not addressed in this documnet. This document also does not address handling of data that has been processed to the feature or voice model levels. No application-specific requirements, equipment, or features are addressed in this document. This document supports the optional inclusion of non-standardized extended data. This document allows both the original data captured and digitally-processed (enhanced) voice data to be exchanged. A description of any processing of the original source input is intended to be included in the metadata associated with the voice representations (VRs). This document does not address data streaming.

Provisions that stored and transmitted biometric data be time-stamped and that cryptographic techniques be used to protect their authenticity, integrity and confidentiality are out of the scope of this document.

Information formatted in accordance with this document can be recorded on machine-readable media or can be transmitted by data communication between systems.

A general content-oriented subclause describing the voice data interchange format is followed by a subclause addressing an XML schema definition.

This document includes vocabulary in common use by the speech and speaker recognition community, as well as terminology from other ISO standards.