The BBC Perceptive Radio

Last week, the BBC announced a perceptive radio - something that adapts the content for an individual listener's location.

On a very basic level, this radio turns up the volume if the room gets louder, so you can continue to listen. If the room gets quieter, it also quietens back down (and, says Mudlark's blog post, changes the EQ to make it "a more relaxing listening experience", or, as I would say, makes it muffled and annoying.)

It's quite an interesting device.

The blog post is entitled "Collaborative working", yet I note it didn't involve the RadioDNS Project, who have quite a bit of experience in this field; nor UK Radioplayer, who've worked on a concept radio device that could overlap with this piece of work; nor anyone in commercial radio, who might be able to offer some understanding into commercial opportunities. Collaborative it might not have been; but it's still interesting work, and should be encouraged - after all, the BBC, uniquely to all broadcasters in the UK, have considerable time and budget to experiment on things like this.

So, what could the commercial opportunities be for this kind of device?

- A device that knows where I am, perhaps by using location data, could tailor sponsorship credits accordingly. "The Traffic and Travel is brought to you by your local KwikFit, in Canterbury Road, Tonbridge" is significantly more useful to a listener than simply referencing "KwikFit".

- Perhaps by combining location and weather data, a device could tailor advertising accordingly. "It might be raining now, but it'll be sunny this weekend - and at Tesco, all our barbeques are half-price" is a compelling argument.

- By being able to sense whether it's a loud room or a quiet one - and, crucially, whether there's anyone in it - could also have some fascinating results. "Now you've got some peace and quiet, how about a nice cup of Tetley tea."

- And, of course, by being able to know whether there's anyone in the room, you might be able to feed back more accurate radio listening figures: there's no harm in that.

This kind of thing is increasingly possible - using RadioDNS's hybrid radio to use FM or DAB where possible and correctly identify the broadcast station, to Triton Digital's rather clever 'elastic adbreaks', allowing you to deliver one-on-one personalised content to audiences over the internet.

While radio drama - seemingly the predominant area that this radio explored - is a minority sport, there's clear benefits for having a more intelligent radio.

Connected radios are a fascinating area. Congratulations to the BBC for continuing to experiment in radio.

- You might also like The UK Radioplayer's concept radio