И. А. Курбасова Е. И. Силантьева

TEXT 13. THE TALKING BUS STOP
ELSIE (Electronic Speech Information Equipment) is an unusual talking bus stop designed in Bristol, England. I_rt_;.is intended to give announcements of the impending "'arrival of buses at a particular location.

The system contains a synthetic speech computer that actually communicates with individual buses on the street. Designed as informational aid to mass-transit travellers, the system is to be on an initial 12 to 18-month test in England.

ELSIE provides its useful information on command from a single push-button control. As soon as the command is given, the electronic voice gives the time of day, the identifying number and route of buses that serve the stop and the scheduled time when the next one is due to come.

But ELSIE also speaks up on its own, automatically informing the waiting travellers of the number and route of the next bus as it approaches the stop.

The basic technology ELSIE is based on is a sophisti­cated system. It operates as follows: radio receivers aboard each bus pick up signals that are broadcast by transmitters installed in the street. These identifying signals are then transmitted to the speech modules along the buses' route. Each module has a microprocessor memory that stores time­tables and also has a human-speech programme capable of putting together phrases from a vocabulary of 100 individ­ual words and numbers.

The designers made ELSIE's voice female-sounding to give it a friendly tone, but also included a microphone listening device that senses the noise of background traffic and raises the voice intensity as required.