NPR Bringing Innovative Radio Services to Market
By Hearing Review - The Insider,Publication Date: January 15, 2009
News feature describes 4 new accessible radio innovations developed by National Public Radio’s NPR Labs, a nonprofit broadcast technology research and development center: (1) Captioned radio, which uses a built-in screen display on specially-equipped receivers to allow deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences to “see” live radio content simultaneously with the broadcast; (2) Braille radio, for people who cannot see or hear, which translates speech-to-text information into Braille through an add-on electronic device resembling a keyboard that utilizes rows of pins that move up and down to create Braille characters; (3) Radio Reading Service, a special radio sidechannel that offers spoken text from hundreds of daily print publications through specially designated radio channels; and (4) Blackboard radio, an educational initiative that will connect classrooms with students who are located in remote regions without access to school or who are not able to leave their environment to attend class. It relies on Radio Data System (RDS) transmission, a small digital subcarrier that is added to an FM station to carry visual information. NPR Labs reportedly is seeking partnerships with manufacturers to develop radio receivers for these innovations which they hope to bring into production within two to five years.
Published by: Ascend Media LLC (Website:http://www.ascendmedia.com)
Link to text: http://www.hearingreview.com/insider/2009-01-15_05.asp
