Shanda to open song search system code

• Source: Global Times
• [09:18 August 13 2010]
• Comments

A man uses a computer in front of the logo of Shanda. The company plans to release the source code of its voice-operated music search technology in October. Photo: CFP

By Tang Zhao

Shanghai-headquartered interactive entertainment company Shanda is to release into the public domain the source code of its system that allows users to search for a piece of music by humming the tune.

Huang Wei, leader of the voice search team at Shanda's Innovation Institute, said that the aim of making the source code available is to allow researchers and students in the field of voice recognition and vocal information processing to use it as a case study.

Although the technology is a low-level form of voice recognition technology, it is a good case for studies in the field, Huang said. The code will be released in October on the official website of Shanda Innovation Institute.

Liu Jie, public relations officer for Shanda, declined to comment further on the technology's future development due to "the sensitivity of the research and development of projects" when she spoke with the Global Times Thursday.

There has been speculation in the industry that the technology will be applied to Shanda's upcoming products, including online games.

Leading Chinese search engine Baidu started testing its own voice-powered song search function internally at the end of July, Web portal Sina reported August 4. The report said that the system operates through a pop-up window on the search engine's website. Users can search for songs by humming or singing for at least 10 seconds.

Wang Mengqiu, senior technology manager of Baidu, said on July 29 that the search engine is planning to officially launch the function this year.

Chen Jiao, a specialist in the IT industry, said Thursday that such technology is more of a gadget than a vital application of voice recognition, and will have limited use.