Fumitada Itakura
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese scientist who did pioneering work in statistical signal processing and its application to speech analysis and synthesis.
Itakura was born in Toyokawa
, Aichi Prefecture
, Japan
. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Nagoya University
in 1963 and 1965, respectively. In 1968, he joined the NTT
Musashino Electrical Communication Laboratory, Tokyo. He completed his D.Eng.
degree in speech processing in 1972, writing his dissertation on "Speech Analysis and Synthesis based on a Statistical Method."
From 1973 to 1975 he worked at the Acoustics Research Department of Bell Labs
, having been invited to work there on fundamental problems by James Flanagan, who had been impressed by one of Itakura's papers on low bit-rate encoding.
From 1975 to 1981, he studied problems in speech analysis and synthesis based on the line spectral pairs
(LSP) method. In 1981, he was appointed as Chief of the Speech and Acoustics Research Section at NTT. He left this position in 1984 to take a professorship in communications theory and signal processing at Nagoya University
. He currently teaches at Meijo University
.
Itakura's work on spectral and format estimation laid the foundation for much of the early progress in speech signal processing.
His work on autoregressive modeling of speech is used in nearly every modern low-to-medium, bit-rate speech transmission system, and the line spectral pair representation he developed is now found in nearly all cellular telephone systems.
(with B. S. Atal), the IEEE Signal Processing 1996 Society Award, the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, the IEICE 2002 Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award, and the 2003 Purple Ribbon Medal from Japanese Government. In 2005, he received the Asahi Prize and the IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal
. In 2009, he received the NEC C&C Prize for his pioneering research and the development of highly efficient voice-coding technology with analysis-synthesis methods for speech. He is a Fellow of the IEEE
and an honorary member the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers of Japan.
Itakura was born in Toyokawa
Toyokawa, Aichi
is a medium-sized city of about 180,000 people located in the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The city, founded on June 1, 1943, originally comprised the three formerly independent Hoi-gun towns of Toyokawa , Ko , Ushikubo , and the village of Yawata...
, Aichi Prefecture
Aichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Nagoya University
Nagoya University
Nagoya University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:...
in 1963 and 1965, respectively. In 1968, he joined the NTT
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
, commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked the 31st in Fortune Global 500, NTT is the largest telecommunications company in Asia, and the second-largest in the world in terms of revenue....
Musashino Electrical Communication Laboratory, Tokyo. He completed his D.Eng.
Doctor of Engineering
The Doctor of Engineering is an academic degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and research in engineering or applied sciences...
degree in speech processing in 1972, writing his dissertation on "Speech Analysis and Synthesis based on a Statistical Method."
From 1973 to 1975 he worked at the Acoustics Research Department of Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
, having been invited to work there on fundamental problems by James Flanagan, who had been impressed by one of Itakura's papers on low bit-rate encoding.
From 1975 to 1981, he studied problems in speech analysis and synthesis based on the line spectral pairs
Line spectral pairs
Line spectral pairs or line spectral frequencies are used to represent linear prediction coefficients for transmission over a channel. LSPs have several properties that make them superior to direct quantization of LPCs...
(LSP) method. In 1981, he was appointed as Chief of the Speech and Acoustics Research Section at NTT. He left this position in 1984 to take a professorship in communications theory and signal processing at Nagoya University
Nagoya University
Nagoya University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:...
. He currently teaches at Meijo University
Meijo University
is a private university in Japan. Its main campus is in Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi and it has a satellite campus in Kani, Gifu.- History :The name Meijō derives itself from the abbreviated kanji form of ....
.
Itakura's work on spectral and format estimation laid the foundation for much of the early progress in speech signal processing.
His work on autoregressive modeling of speech is used in nearly every modern low-to-medium, bit-rate speech transmission system, and the line spectral pair representation he developed is now found in nearly all cellular telephone systems.
Awards
His awards include the IEEE ASSP 1975 Senior Award, an award from Japan's Ministry of Science and Technology in 1977, the IEEE 1986 Morris N. Liebmann AwardIEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award
The initially called Morris Liebmann Memorial Prize provided by the Institute of Radio Engineers , the IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award was created in 1919 in honor of Colonel Morris N. Liebmann. It was initially given to awardees who had "made public during the recent past an important...
(with B. S. Atal), the IEEE Signal Processing 1996 Society Award, the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, the IEICE 2002 Distinguished Achievement and Contributions Award, and the 2003 Purple Ribbon Medal from Japanese Government. In 2005, he received the Asahi Prize and the IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal
IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal
The IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal is presented "for outstanding achievements in signal processing" theory, technology or commerce. The recipients of this award will receive a gold medal, together with a replica in bronze, a certificate and a honorarium.The award was established in...
. In 2009, he received the NEC C&C Prize for his pioneering research and the development of highly efficient voice-coding technology with analysis-synthesis methods for speech. He is a Fellow of the IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
and an honorary member the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers of Japan.