[Nfbkabs] FW: NPR, WGBH Collaborate on Accessible Radio Technology

[Shannon Caldwell]

FYI 
Thought some of you might be interested in this information. 
Shannon Caldwell 


-----Original Message-----
From: dvsconsumers at mail4.wgbh.org [mailto:dvsconsumers at mail4.wgbh.org] On
Behalf Of Mary Watkins
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 10:44 AM
To: dvsconsumers
Subject: NPR, WGBH Collaborate on Accessible Radio Technology

NPR Receives Department of Education Grant to Develop Accessible Radio
Technology
for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Blind and Visually Impaired Communities

NPR and WGBH's National Center for Accessible Media Partner to Research and
Create Services

Washington, D.C., October 11, 2006 - The Department of Education's National
Institute of Disability Rehabilitation and Research has awarded a grant to
NPR and WGBH's National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) to develop
accessible radio technology for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind
or visually impaired.  The Accessible Digital Radio Broadcast Services grant
- in the amount of $150,000 for the first year - will help fund an
anticipated three-year research and development project to prototype, field
test and assess the cutting-edge radio technologies to serve the needs of
people with sensory disabilities.  NPR and NCAM are internationally
recognized experts in digital radio technologies and accessible media
service models.

"As radio moves into the digital transmission arena, public radio is
committed to providing people with sensory disabilities equal access to
news, entertainment and emergency services," said Mike Starling, CTO and
Executive Director of NPR Labs. "Thanks to the Department of Education's
support through this grant, NPR and our WGBH partner will leverage our
shared abilities to deliver on this promise."

"The time to address the needs of people with sensory disabilities is now,"
said Larry Goldberg, WGBH's Director of Media Access.  "Considering those
who are deaf or blind at birth, through trauma or illness, or baby boomers
reaching retirement age over the next few years, the numbers of Americans
with hearing or visual loss are expected to climb.  It is crucial for us to
address the unique needs of this growing population as we further develop HD
radio services."

In creating radio technologies specifically geared to people with sensory
disabilities, NPR and NCAM will bring together experts from broadcasting,
academia and non-profit service organizations to best serve the needs of
people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired.  The
overall goal is to guide the design of prototype digital radios for
evaluation by consumers with special needs.  At the conclusion of the study
period, the design criteria - to be developed with collective input from a
representative cross section of disabled consumers - will be turned over to
receiver manufacturers as best operating practice.  NPR has teamed with Dr.
Ellyn Sheffield of Salisbury University, a widely recognized researcher of
consumer adaptation to digital radio services, to help design and test the
technology in development. 

The project's total budget for the first year is $227,810.  The Department
of Education grant will cover 65 percent of the project costs for the first
year, while NPR will fund the remaining 35 percent. Additional federal
funding after the first year is dependent on congressional appropriations.

NPR and the NPR Member stations have a long history of pioneering inclusive
access for people with sensory disabilities.  More than 100 radio reading
services for the blind operating in the United States are offered by NPR
stations, providing the reading of text from daily news, books and
magazines.

In another effort to make radio programming accessible to the deaf and
hearing-impaired community, NPR has in recent years tested Web-based
real-time captioning of radio programs through www.NPR.org.  For a two-hour
special on deaf culture and education airing this Thursday October 12, NPR's
Talk of the Nation has collaborated with WGBH's Media Access Group, the
pioneer of captioning for television, to provide live captioning of the
program.  The October 12 broadcast will feature an interview with Dr. I.
King Jordan, retiring president of Gallaudet University, the world's only
university dedicated to deaf and hard of hearing students and a look at the
shifting debate over the cochlear implant. Details can be found at
www.npr.org/deafculture.

 -NPR-

NPR Media Relations:

Emily Lenzner, 202.513.2754, elenzner at npr.org

Media Access Group at WGBH:

Mary Watkins, 617.300.3700 voice, 617.300.2489 TTY, mary_watkins at wgbh.org