Deaf and Hard of Hearing Vote Yes on New Radio Technology During NPR's Live Captioned Broadcast of Presidential Election
November 13 2008 - 9:40AM
PR Newswire (US)
Survey: Majority Would Buy Unique Radios and Watch Broadcasts at
Home or in Cars WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- While
millions of U.S. citizens voted for national and local elections
last week, some of the nation's deaf and hard of hearing citizens
were casting important votes on the future of captioned radio
broadcasts -- new technology designed to enable them to experience
live radio coverage for the first time. The results -- more than
three-quarters of people who are deaf and hard of hearing indicated
that they would be interested in purchasing captioned radio
displays after watching live demonstrations of the technology last
week at seven locations around the United States. The election
night broadcast demonstrations were made possible by NPR, Harris
Corporation and Towson University. The NPR broadcast, part of an
initiative to make radio more accessible to the millions of
consumers with sensory disabilities around the world, was shown at
private demonstrations at NPR's international headquarters and
Towson University in Towson, Maryland, along with five NPR member
stations around the United States. At each of the demonstration
locations, participants who are deaf or hard-of-hearing filled out
surveys in person or online to provide feedback on the technology.
Responses to surveys indicated that captioned radio will be a
popular broadcast format for deaf and hard-of-hearing users: -- 95%
were happy with the level of captioning accuracy, a crucial aspect
for readability and comprehension -- 77% said they would be
interested in purchasing a captioned radio display unit when it
becomes available -- 86% indicated they would be interested in
purchasing a 'dual-view' screen display for a car (which would
enable a deaf passenger to see the captioned radio text while the
driver listens to the radio). "Being able to read the captions
enabled me to stay current on the election results. I usually tune
out the radio when it's on because it is difficult to understand
the dialogue with my hearing loss," said Betsy McCarthy, who
participated in the demonstration at WGBH in Boston. "This
technology would allow me instant access to a broadcast as opposed
to taking the extra time to obtain a transcript when one is
available." Demonstration participants also showed a strong desire
to rely upon captioned radio in emergency situations -- on a scale
of 1-10, with 10 being extremely important, they ranked emergency
notifications at 9.6 when asked what types of information would be
important to receive through captioned radio broadcasts. General
news came in second at 8.0. The survey also included a number of
questions regarding format preferences, such as the speed of the
scrolling text and the size of the text. The information will be
used to improve future captioned broadcasts. "The survey responses
indicate this broadcast was very well-received by the audience,"
said Dr. Ellyn Sheffield, assistant professor of psychology at
Towson University, who conducted the survey portion of the event.
"The detailed feedback we received from this broadcast will help us
improve both the text-display and the user-interface for future
radios, making the captioned radio experience significantly more
enjoyable for consumers who are deaf and hard of hearing." The
telecast leveraged cutting-edge digital HD Radio(TM) technology to
enable people who are deaf to experience NPR's election coverage by
viewing live radio content on specially equipped receivers.
Stenocaptioners from WGBH in Boston monitored NPR's live coverage
and fed instantaneous speech-to-text transcriptions to the
participating NPR stations and to NPR's web site. "The telecast
demonstrated the enormous potential of digital radio and how it can
reach new audiences," said Howard L. Lance, chairman, president and
chief executive officer of Harris Corporation. "HD Radio's benefits
extend well beyond clearer signals and better sound -- it sends
data, scrolling real-time text, even images. This telecast ushers
in a whole new era of radio that can now finally be experienced by
millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing people." "This historic
broadcast was extremely successful and clearly demonstrated that
this important captioning process and the associated technologies
are ready for prime time," said Mike Starling, chief technology
officer and executive director of NPR Labs. "We are also continuing
to receive important feedback from many of the people who are deaf
and hard of hearing who took part in this event, and we intend to
use that information to improve future captioned radio broadcasts."
The event was coordinated by the International Center for
Accessible Radio Technology (ICART), which is headquartered at
Towson University in Towson, Maryland. Founding members also
include NPR and Harris Corporation. Towson houses the primary
administrative and academic research office for the initiative, NPR
Labs in Washington, DC, provides the technology R&D and
software development, and Harris Corporation supplies the
transmission and research support at its radio broadcast technology
center in Cincinnati, Ohio. More information on the initiative can
be found at http://www.i-cart.net/ . In addition to NPR, Harris
Corporation, and Towson University, ICART member organizations
include iBiquity Digital Corporation, Delphi, NDS, Radiosophy,
Helen Keller Institute, Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National
Center for Accessible Media at WGBH (NCAM), Northern Virginia
Resource Center for Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Persons, and the
G3ict, an Advocacy Initiative of the United Nations Global Alliance
for ICT and Development. NPR's Accessible Radio project is funded
by a grant from the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation
and Research (NIDRR). About NPR Since its launch in 1970, NPR has
evolved into a leading multimedia company, award-winning primary
news provider and dominant force in American life. NPR produces
and/or distributes 1,500 hours of programming weekly, including
more than 150 hours of news, information, talk, entertainment and
cultural shows for the 800-plus NPR Member stations around the
country, attracting 26.5 million listeners weekly. NPR also
programs two 24/7 channels for Sirius satellite radio and five 24/7
music multicast channels for digital HD Radio, having served as an
industry leader in HD research and development; additionally it
produces nearly 90 podcasts, making it the biggest podcaster among
American media companies. NPR.org offers extensive original video
and audio content, hourly newscasts, concerts and free audio
streaming of current and archived NPR programs. About Towson
University Founded in 1866, Towson University is recognized among
the nation's best regional public universities, offering more than
100 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs in the
liberal arts and sciences, and applied professional fields. Located
in suburban Towson, eight miles north of Baltimore, the
university's beautifully landscaped, 328-acre setting offers a
pleasant environment for study and a diverse campus life, as well
as easy access to a wealth of university and community resources.
With more than 20,000 students, Towson University is the
second-largest public university in Maryland. As a metropolitan
university, Towson combines research-based learning with practical
application. Its many interdisciplinary partnerships with public
and private organizations throughout Maryland provide opportunities
for research, internships and jobs. The university's radio station,
WTMD, will soon convert to digital format and will serve as the
initial testing ground for the initiative. Towson University is a
founding member of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan
Universities (CUMU); TU President Robert Caret holds the office of
president. Additional information can be found at
http://www.towson.edu/ . About Harris Corporation Harris (NYSE:HRS)
is an international communications and information technology
company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150
countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has
annual revenue of $5.4 billion and 16,500 employees-including
nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to
developing best-in-class assured communications(R) products,
systems, and services. Additional information about Harris
Corporation is available at http://www.harris.com/ . HD Radio(TM)
is a proprietary trademark of iBiquity Digital Corp. DATASOURCE:
Harris Corporation CONTACT: Jim Burke, Corporate Headquarters,
+1-321-727-9131, ; Danielle Deabler, NPR, +1-202-513-2303, ; or
Carol E. Dunsworth, Towson University, +1-410-704-4672, Web site:
http://www.harris.com/ http://www.towson.edu/ http://www.npr.org/
http://www.i-cart.net/
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