Error loading native control - Bing Speech Recognition

Question

Hello, I added the 'Bing Speech Recognition' skill, after selecting the 'Auto Record Using Wake Word' option and then saving my project, I get the following error when i load my projet. The skill no longer loads and I am no longer able to open it or remove it from my project.
--------------------------- Error loading native control: Bing Speech Recognition --------------------------- System.NullReferenceException

How can I remove the 'Bing Speech Recognition' skill from my project? Thank you in advance for the help!

Athena · Answer

To address the issue you're experiencing with the Bing Speech Recognition skill in your ARC project, you can try the following steps to remove the skill from your project: 1. Manual Editing of the Project File: ARC projects are saved in a format that can be edited with a text editor. Locate your project file (it usually has an extension like .ezbproj). Make a backup of this file before proceeding to ensure you have a copy in case something goes wrong. Open the original project file with a text editor like Notepad or Notepad++. Search for the section related to the Bing Speech Recognition skill. It should be identifiable by a tag or section named similarly to "Bing Speech Recognition" or by the skill's URL you provided. Carefully delete the section related to this skill, making sure not to remove any necessary syntax for the file structure. Save the file and try opening your project in ARC again. 2. Creating a New Project: If manual editing seems too complex or doesn't resolve the issue, consider creating a new project and manually adding back each skill except for the Bing Speech Recognition skill. While this approach is more time-consuming, it ensures that your project is free from the error-causing skill. 3. Contacting Support: If you're unable to resolve the issue through manual editing or if creating a new project isn't feasible, consider reaching out to Synthiam's support. While direct support contact is generally not the first recommendation, in cases where project files become corrupted or unmanageable, the support team may offer solutions or tools to help rectify the issue. 4. Use ARC's Built-in Features: Check if ARC has any built-in project repair or skill management features that you haven't utilized yet. Sometimes, software updates include tools to manage or fix project-related issues that could resolve your problem. Remember, when manually editing project files or making significant changes, always keep backups of your original files to prevent data loss.

DJ Sures · Answer

Hmmmm-there seems to be something else missing that is causing the error. I saw your post after Easter dinner here and thought I'd try it. But when I save the Bing speech recognition project with wake word set, it works for me. Do you think there's something else missing? Ideally, if you could post your project on here or save it to the cloud publically, I can take a look

DJ Sures · Answer

Oh, also, Athena left out the ability to use the "merge project" option from the file menu. You can select what robot skills to merge into a new project. But I'm sure we can fix it if we know what caused it. that's always the tough part to find out what caused it when there's not much information to go on.

DJ Sures · Answer

Oh i see - looking at your diagnostic log it seems this (i translated it from french to english).... Quote: Error loading native control: Bing Speech Recognition. System.NullReferenceException 2024-03-31 16:34:43 -04:00Error with speech recognition init: The object reference is not defined as an instance of an object. 2024-03-31 16:34:43 -04:00Set Dictionary Error loading phrases (Custom): Speech synthesis is not supported due to invalid operating system or missing device 2024-03-31 16:34:43 -04:00Error loading native control: Bing Speech Recognition. System.NullReferenceException: The object reference is not defined as an instance of an object.  So it seems your speech recognition is not configured correctly. but, it should not block the load of the robot skill like that. I'll add a note and have an update planned to fix that. in the meantime, u'll need to check to make sure you can get speech recognition installed or configured on ur PC first.

Taubore · Answer

Experimentation_1.EZB Thank you for the very quick feedback! I downloaded my project here, because if I save it to the Cloud, I think it may modify it and cause problems with reproducing the error. It should, as you noticed, be noted that my OS (Windows) is in French and that my skill was configured CA-fr.

Taubore · Answer

Thank you, it works! I used 'Merge project' to create a new one without the 'Bing Speech Recognition' skill and I can now continue my experiments. I'll come back here with more info if I reproduce the problem again.

DJ Sures · Answer

Okay great! I have it added for someone to check out tomrorow. Easter holiday in Canada this weekend

Synthiam Support · Answer

We want to update you on the fix for the issue you experienced. The speech recognition robot skill specifies the speech recognition and synthesis of language/culture. That value is used globally in the ARC framework. However, since adding the wake word feature to Bing Speech Recognition, it also captures the value of that robot's skill. But, if the speech recognition robot skill does not exist, it attempts to load EN-US. If that culture does not exist, it raises an error.  What we're going to do is move the language culture setting into the project rather than the robot skill. It is in the robot skill due to legacy compatibility, but it no longer needs to be there. We will make it platform-wide. This means we need to create a new software release. We are developing ARCx, the next generation of the Synthiam robot platform, and therefore short-handed. We hope to have a fix for you this week with a new release.

Taubore · Answer

Thanks for this update

Dave Schulpius · Answer

I just recently started taking advantage of the Wake Word feature again in the Bing Speech skill and it works amazingly well for me. Bing Speech is the main way I interact and control my robot. I have the work "Robot" as my wake word and it catches it every time then lets me execute commands in scripts stored in this skill. I had tried using the wake word feature a while back and I was disappointed with its performance. Not sure what you changed bit it's working great now.

I hope this new "fix" you are working on doesn't change anything with the way the Wake Word performs. I always get nervous when something that seems to work well is "fixed".

DJ Sures · Answer

@dave the fix is adding language support - it doesn't affect you

Dave Schulpius · Answer

Thanks @DJ. I appreacheate you answering my question and concern.

Taubore

Error Loading Native Control - Bing Speech Recognition

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