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Olinda
– Prototype Radio of the Future
A
prototype radio called “Olinda” has recently been built
with the goal of provoking “...discussion on the future and
design of radios for the home.” Commissioned by the British
Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC’s) Audio and Music Interactive
division (www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/radio/network/interactive.shtml)
and designed and built by Schulze & Webb Ltd. (London, UK,
http://schulzeandwebb.com/2008/olinda/),
the two defining features of the Olinda radio are its modular
design (allowing for new functionality and encouraging innovation)
and its ability to promote social networking among radio listeners.
 The
“exploded view” photo at right highlights the modularity
of the Olinda design. There are three parts to this prototype:
the base (largest part, at right), which consists of a DAB digital
radio tuner, speaker, and integral collapsible antenna, and which
provides a mechanical and electrical interface to the Olinda modules;
the social listening module (center part) which is discussed below;
and, the transparent end cap (at left) which makes visible the
connectors available for additional modules, acting as a constant
reminder to the users that this is an expandable device.
On
the base unit, there are two displays and two knobs. The front
display shows the station being listened to while the one on the
top shows either the list of available stations alphabetically
(when the outer knob is turned), or, a list of the most listened-to
stations when the inner knob is turned. According to the Olinda
pamphlet, the designers elected to not include preset buttons
so that the design would be based “...not on the features
list of the radio, but on the motivations and experience of the
people using it.”
So
far the only module which exists for the Olinda radio is the Social
listening module, which allows the listener to share listening
with up to six friends who also are using Olinda radios. This
module has built-in Wi-fi Internet connectivity and when in range
of a Wi-fi network, accesses a BBC social listening central Web
site and downloads information on the six friends that the listener
has entered into the Web site database. When these friends listen
to their Olinda radios, the button corresponding to the listening
friend lights up (as shown in the photo, where the three lit-up
buttons indicate that three of the pre-selected friends are listening),
and if the listener presses the lit-up button, the station that
the friend is listening to is displayed on the top display and
can then be tuned to. Olinda’s designers believe that the
shared radio listening experience will be “...the start of
many conversations, either because people experience it together
and feel closer, or because they use it as a prompt to start an
interaction.”
Other
modules (none yet built) besides the one for social listening
are imagined in the Olinda pamphlet:
Klipit
– would consist of a large button which the listener pushes,
causing the module to send the station ID and the current time
to an online “Klipit” service. Later, this service
figures out what to do with this information, for example, songs
could be added to the listener’s facebook profile and offered
for purchase. (This module could function similar to the ‘iTunes
tagging” feature now available in some HD Radio receivers
– for more information about iTunes tagging go to www.hdradio.com/iTunes_Tagging/).
Volume
voting – using Wi-fi connectivity, would communicate
the radio’s volume setting to the DJ, allowing the DJ or
program director to see the average volume (anonymously aggregated)
of every connected, tuned-in radio being listened to.
Whatson
– would track and in some instances control (by selecting
a station) the listening which is done using the Olinda radio,
helping the listener achieve a healthy balance of program formats
(e.g., news, classical, talk and pop).
Push-to-talk
– in essence, an intercom that would allow the listener
to talk (and listen) to one of the six friends selected for
monitoring with the social listening module.
Recommendation
buddy – a modification to the social listening module
such that one of the six friends would be the listener’s
recommendations “robot,” keeping track of which stations
the listener likes and recommending similar stations.
Children’s
tear-off – a module for kids which would glow when
a program that the child is interested in starts, alerting the
child that it’s time to listen. As imagined, this module
would connect wirelessly to the Olinda radio base, have a built-in
speaker and be removable, allowing the child to take it elsewhere
for more comfortable listening.
Pause
module – a feature that is available in some radios
already, often called “TiVo for radio.” With this
module, the listener could pause a live radio program for later
listening; when “paused,” the radio is actually storing
the program in local memory for later playback.
Mobile
phone/MP3 player dock – with this module the listener
could recharge their portable MP3 player and/or cellular phone,
and also provide for transfer of audio programs from the Olinda
radio into either or both of these portable devices.
Home
alert base station – other devices in the home would
communicate with this module to alert the listener to such things
as a smoke alarm battery needing changing, or the microwave
oven just finishing a long defrost cycle, or someone ringing
the doorbell.
Profile
key fob dock – each listener in the home would have
their own USB flash memory key fob which stores the listener’s
station (and perhaps other) preferences and is transportable
between the Olinda radio dock module and other compatible radio
devices, for example, an automotive radio with a similar dock.
A
pamphlet discussing the Olinda prototype and concept in detail
is available on the Internet at: http://schulzeandwebb.com/2008/olinda/Olinda_pamphlet_for_screen.pdf.
For more information visit the BBC Labs Web page at www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radiolabs/2008/05/olinda_a_new_radio.shtml.
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May 19, 2008 Radio TechCheck is also available
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