Research Institute of Disabled Consumers
Talking Newspaper Services helped the RIDC (Research Institute of Disabled Consumers) carried out a limited-time experiment in 2020 for two of their range of “Accessibility” guides; for washing machines and boiler controls.
We built a phone navigation system to allow listeners to navigate via headings such as “tactile features” and “audio output”, and then listen to fuller details of each section.
We also provided an audible, navigable version of the newsletter, with each section introduced with the title in a male voice, and the content in a female voice.
The quality of the synthetic voices was particularly praised, as was the ease of navigation. The ultimate goal was to have a fully interactive, Alexa-style phone service where people could search.
Unfortunately, as with many things at the time, COVID put the newsletter and guides on hold, as well as further development.