CES: Seen but not heard

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Here’s a radical idea -- closed-caption radio. Although there’s closed-caption television, nothing like that exists for radio. Mike Sterling, chief technology officer of National Public Radio, decided to change that. So in November 2005, he proposed his idea at a talk he gave at Gallaudet University, a school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Cheryl Heppner, executive director of the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons, immediately thought it a brilliant idea. Heppner, who’s hard of hearing, always wondered why her husband was laughing his head off while they driving. Turns out he was listening to ‘Car Talk’ on NPR. Through the years, Heppner and Sterling tried to find ways for her to share in those jokes with her husband. CES attendees can see the fruits of their labor Jan. 8, when NPR, along with Harris Corp. and Towson University, will host the first over-the-air broadcast of closed-caption radio.

The group is working with Sharp and Delphi to come out with an in-dash combination GPS device that uses Sharp’s dual-screen technology, which displays two different images that are seen from two separate viewing angles, sort of like a hologram. Thus, from a single LCD screen, the driver sees a map, while the passenger sees a screen of text that types out Click & Clack’s jokes.

Hear, hear!

-- Alex Pham