My friend Mike Carey, who has died aged 71, was a pioneer in the development of speech recognition and digital audio, including digital audio broadcasting (DAB). After a formative period at the Post Office research labs, Keele University and Mitel Telecom, he left in 1985 with Adrian Anderson and me to establish Ensigma, a company that quickly established itself as a leader in the research and development of digital speech and audio applications, with uses in mobile telephony, broadcasting and automated speech recognition systems.
Mike was born in Preston, to Ethel (nee Glover), a weaver and housewife, and Stephen, a miner-cum-decorator. At Preston Catholic college, a local grammar, he met Elizabeth Mercer at a school dance, for once beating the cross-country champion across the floor. They married in 1969, by which time Mike was on a Post Office scholarship to study electrical engineering at Imperial College, London, supported throughout by extra work taken on by his parents.
Mike had a strong business sense, as well as a razor-sharp mind and deep understanding of the engineering and technology that he worked on. Much of Ensigma’s business derived from licensing designs for incorporation into semiconductors and third-party products. He was a strong believer in education and in the importance of the links between industry and universities. This was demonstrated by collaborations with the universities of Bristol, Swansea, East Anglia, Manchester and Liverpool (among others) that included projects, student and staff placements and joint publications. Mike had numerous patents and international papers in the field of speech recognition and speaker verification that are still being referenced today.
In 2000 he negotiated a takeover that gave Ensigma the critical mass to compete successfully on the world stage. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2005 he retired but worked as an honorary professor at Birmingham University, where he continued his research and supervised a number of PhD students.
Mike was an immensely talented man of great determination, ambition, focus and great energy. Outside work, wine and classical music were great passions, and he was an early adopter of top end hi-fi equipment, including electro-static speakers that brooked no compromise in their place in his house.
Elizabeth worked with him in the business from the beginning, and cared for him throughout his illness. She survives him, as do their three children and eight grandchildren, and his sister.
