| NOAA
Weather Radio, the nation's automated radio weather warning
system, will soon have a new voice. The National Weather
Service (NWS), an agency of the Commerce Department's National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), evaluated five
voices and reviewed 19,000 Internet survey comments from the
public in the effort to find the new voice.
NOAA has awarded Siemens
Information and Communication Network of Boca Raton, Fla., a
$633,615 contract for the voice improvement. The weather
service will begin implementation of the new voice's
text-to-speech software program early in 2002, following
successful testing and integration within the NOAA Weather
Radio system.
The weather service first
used a computer synthesized voice technology as part of a
console replacement system in 1997. Automating NOAA Weather
Radio enabled the weather service to send out multiple
independent warnings over multiple transmitters
simultaneously, allowing speedier delivery of severe weather
warnings and more lead-time for the public.
"The old voice was
state-of-the-art when first placed in service in 1997, but
advances in artificial speech technology now make it possible
for us to provide a service that is more understandable to the
public," said retired General Jack Kelly, director of the
National Weather Service. "This reinforces our commitment
to continuously use new technology to improve the timeliness
and effectiveness of public warnings."
As part of the contract,
Siemens will team with SpeechWorks International of Boston,
Mass., to provide software that combines phonetic sounds with
natural language modeling.
"SpeechWorks is working with us to make NOAA Weather
Radio even better, said Greg Mandt, director of the weather
service's Office of Services. Mandt said a series of focus
groups conducted around the country are indicating wide
support for the new voice. "We'll use this feedback to
help us further improve the voice and find out what changes
our listeners might want in the NOAA Weather Radio service.
We're confident these voice improvements will help to increase
NOAA Weather Radio's listening audience, which translates to
protecting more lives and property."
NOAA Weather Radio, sometimes referred to as the voice of
the National Weather Service, is a portable device that
enables the public to receive continuous weather broadcasts
and hazard alerts directly from local weather forecast
offices. Transmitting from a network of 583 stations
nationwide, the NOAA Weather Radio can be heard by more than
85 percent of the U.S. population.
NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) is the primary source
of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States
and its territories. NWS operates the most advanced weather
and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to
protect lives and property and enhance the national economy.
To learn more about NWS, please visit http://www.nws.noaa.gov.
NOTE: The old and new voice can be heard on the NOAA
Weather Radio
Web site at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/newvoice.htm |
