Listen to the radio in any language and in real time
Radio for reading along – isn’t that a contradiction in terms? Not at all. Do we need transcription of radio content? You bet. Such an additional text track, accessible via app, tablet or desktop, offers easy access for the hearing impaired, people with learning difficulties or those who are not fluent in the language. The interactivity also makes radio broadcasts easier to understand, as they can be read along at the same time. Kristian Müller and Petros Theocharous fill radio time with their digital solution has filled a gap here. The program is able to display live broadcasts in parallel as text using artificial intelligence (AI).
This makes Radiozeit one of the technologies currently transforming the consumption of content. There has never been a form of real-time radio subtitling before. Similar to karaoke, every spoken word is displayed simultaneously via the app or website so that the radio can be read along. In addition, Radiozeit not only offers subtitling in German, but can also translate into all languages, whether English, Arabic or Ukrainian.
Founder and CEO Kristian Müller explains how this works in an interview with MediaTech Hub Potsdam: “We delay the audio signal by a little less than a minute. The entire calculation takes place during this time. This is hardly noticeable for listeners, because there are often slight delays, especially online during broadcasts. This allows us to use very good AI models compared to other providers.”
Real-time transcription with AI
The AI used delivers higher-quality results than conventional models, which make mistakes when recognizing and assigning words, for example.radio time uses an AI model developed for file-based transcription to subtitle radio reports and has extended it to include real-time transcription and the translation function. The error rate here is five percent, a very good result compared to the human error rate of four percent. The AI model is operated on specially configured servers. There are also legal reasons for this decision: The technology must be able to be operated in Europe and Germany without infringing copyrights.
There are various ways for radio stations to integrate subtitling. One of the simplest options is to provide a subtitle track in the audio, which is played via a separate stream. This function can either be embedded in a broadcaster’s website, similar to a Soundcloud player, or an additional window can be opened in which listeners can read the subtitles. For apps, there is an API that enables data retrieval and allows broadcasters to integrate the subtitles into their own layout.
More visibility for radio stations
And the offer has another advantage: If a current or specific topic is discussed in a radio show and made available as text in real time, this ensures greater visibility in Google searches and increases the station’s reach. “We have a USP here because we do this while the show is still on air. Texts for broadcasts are also available from other providers, but there the files first take a detour via a transcription service before they are uploaded,” says Kristian Müller about the positive impact on the broadcaster’s SEO. Radiozeit has also applied for a patent for the simultaneous playback of text and sound thanks to the delayed audio signal.
After receiving funding from the Media Innovation Center Babelsberg (MIZ), the team is currently involved in the MediaTech Hub Accelerator program and is continuously refining the technology – also with regard to live transcription without delay. To make this as smooth and cost-effective as possible, the startup has several of its own servers in German data centers. This means that many transcription processes can be played out simultaneously and also superimposed. This can be of great interest to news broadcasters in particular. Expansion into international markets is also on the agenda, and the first sales partners have already been found in Poland.
Some radio stations have already integrated the innovative technology, including ALEX Berlin. Their Radiozeit Player is freely available to everyone on the web. Deutschlandfunk will start integrating it into its own app at the end of the year. For selected broadcasts, it is also conceivable that text contributions could be made available at a later date. Technically, this is easy to do, but as the manuscripts are created automatically, the broadcaster needs to carry out appropriate quality control.
More about the MTH Blog
The media technologies of the future are already being used today – not only in the entertainment sector but in a wide variety of industries. For our MediaTech Hub Potsdam blog, we talk to tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and researchers once a month and tell the stories behind their innovative business models, ideas, projects and collaborations.
