WorldDAB helps listeners to find stations using voice commands

WorldDAB has produced new guidelines for broadcasters and manufacturers on the use of phonemes and aliases.

The new easy-to-follow, 18-page “how-to” guide is aimed at broadcasters and those who work in radio stations, to help them check their phonemes are correct.

Phonemes and aliases allow listeners to find their favourite stations using voice commands. This is on the increase, particularly as the list of stations is getting much longer.

Smart speakers and virtual assistants use voice recognition to understand what is said to them, and voice reproduction to confirm choices and results to users in natural language.

Many typical words and phrases can be represented by plain text but there can be problems when listeners call a radio station by something other than its exact official name and when a radio station name isn’t said the same way as it is written down in text. Aliases and phonemes can help listeners find radio stations in these cases.

The new guide comes with just weeks to go until WorldDAB Automotive 2024, which takes place in Prague and online on 13th June.

This annual event sees car manufacturers and broadcasters explore the future of DAB+ broadcast radio in vehicles and is free to attend. Alongside expert speakers from around the world, Nick Piggott, Vice President, WorldDAB will lead a session on the importance of metadata and phonemes in providing the best possible in-vehicle experience for listeners.

The new guide is available free from the WorldDab website and there also other useful information and expert advice, including user experience and driver distraction guidelines, and a set of country factsheets for automotive manufacturers.