NPR To Unveil Accessible Radios At CES
National Public Radio will introduce captioned, braille, and blackboard radios as well as a new radio reading service receiver to high-tech manufacturers at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in hopes of securing partnerships with companies to develop receivers that would serve millions of deaf, hard of hearing and blind people worldwide and people who are located in remote communities needing access to schools. The technologies' debut comes after years of research by NPR Labs, America's only not-for-profit broadcast technology R&D center. NPR plans to award funds for prototyping that would bring the radios into production and into consumers' hands within two to five years.
Also at CES, which kicks off Wednesday evening, NPR -- along with Apple, Google, Ibiquity and others -- will receive a Vision Free Award, presented by soul singer Stevie Wonder for their work in accessible digital radio and broadcast services for the sensory impaired. Wonder will host the Vision Free Awards reception on Friday. "There are 650 million people worldwide who are sensory impaired and whose quality of lives could be greatly improved by use of new digital radio technologies," NPR Chief Technology Officer Mike Starling said in a release. The services will "break down sound, sight and location barriers for these underserved populations," he said. For more information, click here.
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