Automated Radio (AuRa) is a concept for automating program planning and playout. The modular approach was tailored specifically to the needs of independent radio stations.
The initiative for AuRa came from five Austrian stations Radiofabrik (Salzburg), Radio FRO (Linz), Freies Radio Freistadt, ORANGE 94.0 (Vienna) and Radio Helsinki (Graz). They joined forces to conquer an aging zoo of homegrown software. The developments were based on an already established program management module of Radio Helsinki and the playout Software Comba coded by Michael Liebler (Radio Z, Nuremberg).
At the same time since 2013 a modular concept has also been discussed between German free radios. Due to lack of resources very few was implemented yet. Many stations still have to deal with individually coded batch scripts and outdated systems. In some radio stations, the situation is unsecure: outdated software is running on single point aged servers. If these break down entire broadcasting routes are lost. In Tübingen, Karlsruhe and Mannheim people eagerly waiting for AuRa 1.0.
As part of danube streamwave digital AuRa will be presented in German and English. For a wider audience we choose the annual conference of the federal association of free radios called “Zukunfswerkstatt Community Media (#zwcm2020)”. Second the system from Austria will be established at Baden-Württemberg stations Wüste Welle (Tübingen) and probably at bermudafunk (Mannheim) and Querfunk (Karlsruhe), too.
