STR-SpeechTech: Superior speech technology solutions for the aviation industry

STR-SpeechTech will be installing StarCaster VOLMET systems into two large airports in Kano and Lagos, Nigeria. These VOLMET systems will be configured to interface with AFTN weather data sources and generate VOLMET broadcasts over VHF radio transmitters. StarCaster VOLMET is a highly flexible and comprehensive solution for the broadcast of VOLMET messages to aircraft in flight, which is why the StarCaster solution was selected for these installations. STR will be delivering all hardware (COTS) and software for the system, including a solid-state voice server to transmit the high quality StarCaster voice for the world to hear.

STR-SpeechTech Ltd. has won a contract to install a bilingual StarCaster ATIS system into Arturo Merino Benitez Airport in Chile. Within a few months Arturo Merino Benitez Airport will have a new StarCaster ATIS 5.0 system with redundant server configuration, and separate maintenance and operator workstations. This configuration will generate separate arrival and departure ATIS broadcasts over two VHF radio tranmitters, and the ATIS broadcast will be generated in both English and Spanish. In addition, for each ATIS message that is broadcast, the StarCaster ATIS system will create a text version in English that will be transmitted to aircraft via Datalink.

STR-SpeechTech has returned from the ATCA and FAAMA conferences with an overwelming amount of positive feedback regarding ATIS version 5.0. Everyone who saw a demo of the version 5.0 software is impressed with the new features intended to make an air traffic controllers job more harmonious. STR was also a corporate sponsor at the 2011 FAA Managers Association Gathering of the Eagles meeting, where many front-line managers hope to see the new StarCaster ATIS product in over 30 towers across the USA.

STR-SpeechTech is now part of the worldwide CANSO community as a Silver Associate Member. As a result of STR's new membership, we will be present at the 3rd Annual CANSO Latin America and Caribbean Conference held November 7-9, 2011 in Cancun, Mexico. To view our new CANSO profile go to the SpeechTech CANSO profile link.

StarCaster ATIS 5.0 is now available for use in air traffic control towers worldwide. Customers from the British Virgin Islands and Nigeria will be the first to enjoy the benefits of the new StarCaster ATIS release. This StarCaster version adds the ability to backup and restore all user settings, including items selected using the ATIS Configuration Wizard. Release version 5.0.1 allows the user to record an entire ATIS message from the Fixed Message Page, and provides additional support for systems configured to receive weather data. For more information on StarCaster ATIS version 5.0.1, email products@speechtech.com.

Mallam Aminu Kano International and Nnamdi Azikiwe International airports in Nigeria have received the award-winning StarCaster ATIS technology. These Nigerian airports have received new automatic terminal information service (ATIS) systems that include many new features and tools for the customer, such as the new Configuration Wizard, and "Frequently Used" list for quick selection of Field Conditions and NOTAMs.

STR stayed awake all night long to exhibit at the second ATC Global Virtual Conference on July 13, 2011. STR's virtual event booth is still accessible using your ATC Global Virtual Event Login. If you have questions about the event and our products, or missed the event altogether, do not hesitate to contact us at products@speechtech.com. To login to event for a second time, access the ATC Global Virtual Conference Website here.

STR is currently in a program set to deliver up to 73 StarCaster ATIS systems to fixed base army sites in the United States of America over the next year. So far, 13 orders have been received to date for the StarCaster ATIS product for the fixed base sites, and STR looks forward to receiving the other 60 orders shortly.

STR rang in the 2011 year by completing orders for StarCaster ATIS 5.0 systems in Ghana, Mexico and Iraq. Now in June of 2011, one of two Iraq ATIS systems is already deployed and fully operational. Tikrit Airport in Iraq is now enjoying all the new benefits of the StarCaster ATIS 5.0 product, and Al Taji Airport is scheduled for deployment this August. Overall, all three countries are looking forward to having their StarCaster ATIS system deployed before 2011 comes to a close.

STR is pleased to announce the deployment of our StarCaster® RIS system at the Utah Test & Training Range (UTTR). Operated by the Clover Control Air Operations Centre at Hill Air Force Base, the StarCaster RIS system broadcasts current activity and status information to aircraft over the range. While four StarCaster RIS systems are currently deployed by the US Army, this is the first to be provided to the US Air Force. A unique feature of the UTTR system is that it can generate up to 6 independent broadcasts, each directed to a different transmitter on the range.

STR-SpeechTech continues to deliver StarCaster ATIS 5.0 around the world, this time to the British Virgin Islands (BVI). BVI ordered the system in May of 2011, and will receive the system before the month ends.

STR-SpeechTech has received a contract to deliver StarCaster ATIS technology to a new airport in Azerbaijan. The installation of StarCaster ATIS software will provide a quick, and easy way to transmit ATIS messages to airplane pilots in Azerbaijan.

The award-winning StarCaster ATIS technology has received a USA Patent for it's unique use of text-to-speech processing for the ATC industry. The patent acknowledges StarCaster technology as meeting the need of automated text-to-speech broadcasting for Air Traffic Controllers. Instead of making manual recordings, the technology allows automatic, quick generation of ATIS and VOLMET broadcasts in seconds. The patent quotes that "the invention provides a cost-effective solution to broadcast, and a dramatic increase in organizational effeciency" which reduces the number of human errors made generating ATIS messages, as well as labour, and operating cost.

Osan Air Force Base in Korea welcomes the installation of a StarCaster ATIS system in December of 2010. This pacific deployment of the award-winning text-to-speech software is part of the U.S. Air Force's Asian command.

STR has been awarded contracts for 5 addtional StarCaster ATIS systems for delivery to the US Air Force. These contracts were received immediately after successful Air Force accreditation of the StarCaster ATIS package.

STR has received accreditation for StarCaster ATIS with the U.S. Army and Air Force. The system is approved for operations on the DoD network with Systems Atlanta's AFAS system.

STR received another contract for delivery of a StarCaster ATIS system to the US Air Force, adding to the quickly growing total of Air Force bases using the award-winning automation technology offered by the software-based ATIS system.

STR announces the successful installation and training of a StarCaster ATIS system into the US Coast Guard. "We are excited for the opportunity to provide this system and its capabilities to the US Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City. The system will allow their air traffic control personnel to quickly generate precise, reliable and natural sounding ATIS broadcasts, while making more efficient use of their time," comments STR President and CEO Craig Dickson.

STR was contracted to deliver 3 more StarCaster ATIS systems for the US Air Force's Europe command. These are the first StarCaster systems to be installed on non-CONUS Air Force bases, using ICAO aviation formats in the ATIS messages.

STR-SpeechTech is pleased to announce a recent contract award by the Irish Aviation Authority for a StarCaster VOLMET Automation system. The VOLMET system, used for broadcasting weather information to international oceanic air traffic, employs STR's award-winning StarCaster® Text-to-Speech technology to generate the system's speech output. StarCaster VOLMET automatically downloads weather data, expands it into plain text and converts it into high quality voice output for regularly scheduled radio broadcast to aircraft in flight. The system is effortless to use, and makes more efficient use of valuable labour resources since it eliminates the need to perform live manual broadcasts.
STR has developed, installed and currently maintains all VOLMET automation systems operating in North America, and the company is proud to offer the same exceptional system to the IAA. STR-SpeechTech's President Craig Dickson states, "We are confident StarCaster VOLMET will improve the IAA's current weather broadcasting capabilities and help to streamline their operations. StarCaster VOLMET is well proven, and is easily implemented and integrated into IAA's facility."

STR has been awarded a contract for their StarCaster® RIS (Range Information Service) system, to be installed at the U.S. Army Range Control Facility at Fort Riley's Marshall Army Airfield.

STR's StarCaster® technology received the important distinction of “Innovative Excellence: Process or Product” at the Vancouver Island Advanced Technology Centre (VIATeC) awards. The award honored STR’s proprietary StarCaster® Text-to-Speech process, a technology incorporated into all of STR’s aviation and automated broadcast-related products and services. The StarCaster® technology has become a benchmark for high quality voice output, raising the bar in not just the Aviation industry but also the text-to-speech industry in general. STR’s ATIS System, which uses the StarCaster® technology, has been nominated for various awards in the recent past, in part due to StarCaster®’s essential and unequaled process.

STR announces the launch of the new StarCaster® RIS (Range Information Service) system. StarCaster® RIS is the newest addition to STR-SpeechTech's line of automated broadcast systems for the air traffic control in the aviation industry. » read more

Systems Atlanta, Inc. (SAI) and STR announce the successful interface of SAI's IDS5 data display system with the StarCaster® ATIS system supplied by STR and SAI to the US Air Force. The StarCaster® product was designed and developed by STR-SpeechTech, Ltd., utilizing STR's StarCaster® Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology for message broadcasting. The interface has been installed and operationally proven at McGuire and Wright-Patterson USAF bases. At these sites, IDS5 shares a common workstation and display with the StarCaster® ATIS, which is launched from within IDS5. Cooperative engineering efforts have automated dataflow from IDS5 to the StarCaster® ATIS system for updating the ATIS code. This product integration has resulted in cost savings while streamlining ATC operations and reducing controller workload.

STR announces the release of its latest dual-language StarCaster® ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information System), now available in Spanish. The new system has already been purchased by two airports in Argentina. The system has all the same essential features of the English-only version, and now has the capability of broadcasting ATIS messages in English and Spanish consecutively. or English on its own. StarCaster® ATIS is a cost-efficient, superior-quality COTS hardware and software package used to create and transmit weather and airport information to arriving and departing aircraft.

STR has been awarded a contract for two StarCaster® ATIS systems for airports in Iceland. Keflavik International Airport and Reykjavik Airport will both be receiving the StarCaster® ATIS with data link capability.

StarCaster® ATIS has been purchased by the Reina Beatrix International Airport in Aruba. Installation is now fully complete and functional at the Caribbean airport.

STR-SpeechTech has won a contract with the B.C. Ministry of Transportation to provide the Ministry with an automated Forecast Broadcast System (FBSYS). FBSYS is an IVR (Integrated Voice Response) system that provides weather forecasts to Ministry and Maintenance Contractor staff via telephone.

STR-SpeechTech announces the successful completion of StarCaster® TWEB System installation and deployments at Automated Flight Service Stations (AFSS) in the FAA Alaska Region. The system, using STR's proprietary high quality text-to-speech technology, automatically expands coded weather data and generates TWEB (Transcribed Weather Broadcast Service) forecasts, which are broadcast via radio to pilots by the FAA AFSS. FAA Alaska's TWEB system is similar to the HIWAS systems operating at AFSSs in the lower 48 U.S. states. The TWEB forecasts include surface winds, visibility, weather and obscuration to vision, sky conditions, mountain obscuration, and low-level wind shear. A synopsis is also provided, describing weather systems such as fronts, high/low pressure centres and freezing levels affecting a route. Installations at the Kenai, Fairbanks and Juneau AFSSs were completed in April 2005.

STR has been awarded a contract with DND Canada to provide a VOLMET Automated Weather Broadcast System at CFB Trenton, using STR's StarCaster® Text-To-Speech technology. The VOLMET broadcast is an international broadcast of aviation weather to commercial aircraft approaching the Atlantic Seaboard. STR also provides automated VOLMET broadcasts in Gander, Newfoundland and New York using the same StarCaster® Text-To-Speech technology . At the deployment of the CFB Trenton VOLMET system, STR will provide all automated VOLMET system in North America. The standardization of the broadcast is a great benefit to pilots as all broadcasts will be produced by a single voice for a clear, consistent broadcast.

STR-SpeechTech Ltd. has been awarded a contract with the US FAA to provide a system that will automatically generate TWEB (Transcribed Weather Broadcast Service) forecasts, which are broadcast to pilots by the FAA at Automated Flight Service Stations in Alaska. The system provides pilots with a continuous broadcast of weather information. The StarCaster® TWEB system will replace the existing system, a very labor-intensive service that up until now was manually recorded by FAA personnel. The new system will use STR's StarCaster® Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology for message broadcasting. The StarCaster TWEB System will automatically collect, filter, sort, verify and store text data, and then automatically process the text data into voice output ready for broadcast. The StarCaster®StarCaster TWEB System is a proven, cost-effective solution that will reduce the FAA�s cost of maintaining the TWEB service. The TWEB system in the FAA Alaska Region is similar to the HIWAS (Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service) provided in the lower 48 U.S. states. The StarCaster® System will reduce the FAA's cost of maintaining the TWEB service through more efficient use of labour resources, as the FAA personnel will no longer be required to provide the labour-intensive TWEB recordings. The system will also provide standardization of the TWEB recordings, since they will be produced by a single voice that will be clearly understood by pilots.