EBU Teaming With NAB Pilot on Prototype ‘Hybrid Radio’ With Voice Control

The European Broadcasting Union is teaming with NAB Pilot to “co-fund” development of a voice-controlled “hybrid radio” prototype combining over-the-air reception with internet connectivity, said EBU Friday. They are demonstrating the prototype at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, it said. The prototype shows how Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant can be used “to make smart decisions about the best way to listen to a radio station,” it said. Voice commands can determine whether to use over-the-air or streaming to tune the station “based on broadcaster parameters and the available hardware in the device,” it said. EBU and Pilot plan to “release the proof of concept code on a royalty-free basis to manufacturers for use in production implementations of voice assistant devices,” it said.