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Otodio is a global standard system for conditioning the text of daily newspapers (and text heavy magazines), transmitting it in text form over digital radio and storing it in radio receivers, such as car audio systems or handheld radios.

Subscribers will listen to a high-quality synthesized speech version of the publication read aloud to them, controlled by a simple set of voice commands, control buttons or column control stick actions.

In the US, where so many commuters are "road warriors" (meaning that they spend at least 30 minutes driving to and from work every day), they are forced to listen to the same news shows repeatedly, or a talk show that wears at your nerves after 20 minutes of the caffeine-fueled radio djs. Instead of listening to these things, the Otodio subscriber will be able to sit back and relax while their favorite publication is spoken aloud.

This can also prove to be beneficial as a work tool. Doctors, for example, might subscribe to a medical journal and instead of taking up time at home that should be spent with family, or adding 10 hours to a workweek, the doctor can subscribe to the medical journal via Otodio and catch up on all the latest news and reports on their way to work in the morning.

Another example of this is for Traders on Wall Street or elsewhere in the world. It is often a requirement for those working for a trading company or on the floor to know exactly what has happened in a publication such as the Financial Times before the trader gets into work in the morning. Instead of scanning through the newspaper quickly in the morning, this individual can listen to the latest business developments via their Otodio system.

Otodio will also be of great benefit to the visually impaired and is strongly supported by the relevant organizations and they are in discussions with the Royal National Institute of the Blind in the UK and the American Federation for the Blind in the USA.

Otodio services are delivered by an Otodio Service Provider (OSP). There will normally be one OSP in each country. The OSP will be an established company with relevant technology and consumer marketing expertise as well as credibility with publishers. For example, in three to five years time there are expected to be one million Otodio subscribers in each of the larger European countries paying, on average,  2 a week to receive publications, making a  100million business for the OSPs in each of these countries.

Digital Radio in the UK: The Chicken and the Egg

Digital radio is already suffering from the chicken and the egg problem in many markets. Broadcasters largely don't deliver additional digital radio channels because there are so few receivers. Digital radios are not bought (or even sold) because there is not much additional content or other functionality. Otodio breaks this circle for digital radio in general because it provides an easily understood and clearly useful additional functionality based on content that already exists and which consumers readily understand. Otodio will not suffer its own chicken and egg problem because it is relatively inexpensive to set up and deliver and because it is strongly supported by the newspaper and magazine publishing industry.

The American market for Digital Radio is not suffering from the chicken and egg problem- Sirius and XM digital radio provide content, receivers and present themselves as a service provider for digital radio. XM radio takes the lead in the market and is the most highly recognized but Sirius, having just signed a contract with Howard Stern, provides a very formidable competitor in the American market.

Although train users might be wary of using such a service- would you still be able to listen to Otodio while in the Underground? - there is no need to be. Otodio will transmit the information via a xls file

How is a Digital Radio Receiver Made Otodio Compatible?

Existing chips within digital radios are easily capable of receiving and delivering Otodio files, including running the text-to-speech (TTS) processing. Adding additional memory, to ensure the highest quality speech, is the only internal hardware modification. Otherwise, only a straightforward software upgrade is required to add an Otodio compliant XML parser and TTS engine. Otodio specifies an industry standard TTS interface, so receiver manufacturers can choose from any of several TTS software vendors, who are delivering a range of high quality voices in all major languages. A European market for many hundreds of thousands of receivers, for use by the visually impaired, will emerge; prior to Otodio receivers becoming standard in production cars.

The Technology

In designing the Otodio technology, Otodio Ltd has focused on; ease of consumer use; making the conditioning and delivery of the content as inexpensive and flexible as possible; also making the standard clear and open, so that it is in every industry participant's interest to adopt it.

The Otodio standard is independent of digital radio technology although it is anticipated that it will be delivered through DAB in all areas where DAB is operational. Otodio is also independent of the conditional access system, though it is recommended that a specific system is used.

Otodio Ltd has patented the overall Otodio system and several key innovative solutions within the system. The company is licensing the use of the standard to OSP's and receiver manufacturers at nominal rates. Otodio Ltd also supplies content conditioning systems and consultancy services.

Otodio's Technology & Patents

Otodio enables printed content to be "listened to" over a digital radio. It brings together the world of printed content -- newspapers, magazines, journals, books, archives, etc. with the world of radio and digital audio.

Its technology simplifies published documents so that they can be broadcast digitally over digital or satellite radio and then "read out" using existing text-to-speech technology.

At the back end, the Otodio engine enables satellite and DAB radio to receive and store complete publications for daily listening. At the front end, the user can "browse" these publications using steering wheel audio controls, radio buttons or voice commands. It has five patents (pending) in the U.S. and the U.K.

Otodio's Target Market

Otodio's initial target market is "drive time" commuters. In the U.S., about 90 million people and about 50% of commuters have a journey of more than 10 miles. An average American spends 9% of their "awake time" in a vehicle. Working with XM satellite radio in the U.S., Otodio estimates its market to be 15 million users and worth more than a billion dollars a year.

Otodio is not limited to satellite radio -- it's "pipe agnostic" and can work over any digital delivery platform -- mobile phones, the Web, etc. The initial "soft market" is one where the industry players have a compelling need to adopt Otodio's technology such as satellite radio today.

Otodio's Revenue Model

Otodio's business model drives revenue from three sources:

1. Licensing fees from radio receiver makers;
2. Franchise fees from Otodio Service Providers (OSPs) in their geographic region; and
3. ASP fees from publishers and OSPs to produce Otodio compliant files.

Commercial Update

While various discussions are in progress, the most advanced are:

Pilot 1

Otodio as Industry Standard

Media Interest