BBC Innovation Labs - Opportunities in Wireless

2008: Mobile Brief The BBC sponsors and covers numerous events every year from the large (The Olympics, Glastonbury) to the niche (Radio 1’s One Big Weekend, local sporting matches).

Future Media & Technology is looking for new formats that allow for interactivity around events and event-based programming, using mobile devices. These interactions can include telephony and non-telephony based service and may use any technology widely available on mobile phones (though we do not currently use Flash Lite).

You may want to use: location-based services, messaging, use of BBC Big Screens, semacodes, small-screen to big-screen interactions (and vice versa), video calling, RFID, wifi hotspots. The interactions should be re-usable so that while you may model and create them around a specific event, the BBC should be able to use them for a variety of events. The interactions should enhance the offering of the event and associated programming, ideally extending reach and appreciation with audience members who are at the event and those watching or listening to it.

The interactions may also lengthen or extend the event before and or after the physical event. Strong ideas will also make the audience see the BBC as innovative. BBC mobile services are always provided at the lowest possible cost to the user, so this should be kept in mind when making proposals. Proposals for projects that are solely art installations will not be selected for developments in the Labs.

2008: Audio & Music Brief We’re interested in most things! But more specifically, here are some areas where we could use some inspiration. Visualising radio – radio is increasingly being consumed through devices with screens – from digital TVs to mobile phones – what could we do?

Music discovery – the BBC has always played an influential role in introducing people to new music. How does the BBC maintain this role and how do we find a balance between editorial recommendations (our producers and presenters) and harnessing the collective power of our audiences?

Mobile – how do we better serve listeners whose primary platform is a mobile rather than a PC? Personalisation – lots of websites use personalisation or automated recommendations. How could this technology best be applied to BBC radio and music content and how could we provide something unique?

Full details of the BBC Innovation Labs can be found here; http://open.bbc.co.uk/labs