Change Release Notes
This release brings a major step forward for speech recognition in ARCx, introducing a new speech-to-text trigger system and improving how robot skills interact with speech recognition engines.
New Speech-to-Text Trigger System
ARCx now includes a dedicated Speech-to-Text Trigger configuration component. Robot skills can use it to select which speech recognition engine should activate speech-to-text functionality, including support for options such as wake words and timing behavior.
This creates a cleaner and more flexible architecture for robot skills that depend on voice input, while allowing multiple speech engines to integrate consistently with ARCx.
Improved Wait for Speech
The Wait for Speech functionality has been substantially refactored.
Speech recognition sessions are now managed more reliably, ensuring the correct recognition session is referenced and dialogs close properly depending on whether recognition succeeds, fails, or is cancelled. Error handling and speech-engine detection have also been simplified. The result is more predictable behavior for robot skills that pause execution while waiting for someone to speak.
Better Speech Engine Integration
Several areas of ARCx were updated to work with the new speech-to-text architecture, including:
- Robot Skill installation and management
- Project Properties
- Wait for Speech controls
- Speech engine window identification and selection
These changes establish a common way for ARCx robot skills to discover and interact with available speech recognition engines.
Under the Hood
The speech recognition code was cleaned up and refactored to remove unnecessary parameters, simplify engine availability checks, and improve session handling.
The ARCx project version has also officially been updated to 2026.09.23.00.
ARCx continues moving toward a unified cross-platform robotics environment where robot skills can take advantage of services such as speech recognition without needing to know the underlying operating system or speech engine.
Download ARCx
Install ARCx on the computer that runs your robot — from a first prototype to a commercial product or an industrial cell. Available for Windows 64-bit, Linux 64-bit and Linux ARM64 for Raspberry Pi (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 64-bit).
Linux
Ubuntu, Debian & friends
64-bit (x64) (zip)
Raspberry Pi
Single board computers
Linux ARM64 (zip)
Requires Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (64-bit)
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i am running the latest version of ARCx and when trying to play an MP3 file for playback via PC speaker, it doesnt play. Am i trying to play the file incorrectly? I get this message:
It would depend on what your audio output device is set to.
It is set to PC Speaker. The screenshot above shows it on the far right.
I think they mean what audio output device in your settings for ARCx
The Sound Board loaded your test.mp3 correctly. The problem is that ARCx's audio output isn't playing anything, so the sound never reaches your speaker. Could you help me narrow it down?
Try resetting the audio device. Go to Options Preferences and select your audio output device again, even if it's already selected. Then try playing test.mp3 again. Does it play now? If not, does restarting ARCx help?
Send me the ARCx log, starting from when ARCx starts up. I'm especially looking for lines like these:
If it's easier, just paste the whole log.
Tell me about your setup:
Thanks! With that I should be able to tell whether this is a device setup issue or something we need to fix in ARCx.
Running on windows, my speakers are in my Viewsonic monitor. Other sounds like system sounds, Youtube, etc.. play through the speakers just fine. Here is the log I think you are looking for.
Sorry meant to send this screenshot.
Hi, thanks for sending the log. That told us exactly what was wrong.
It wasn't your MP3 or the Sound Board. When ARCx started, it tried to pair your speaker with a recording device that can't be used alongside it. When that failed, ARCx didn't start its audio output at all. So nothing ARCx played could be heard, not just the Sound Board. What that means is your recording device and playback device are different units, or you're missing a recording device.
We've fixed this, and the fix will be in the ARCx update going out this evening. You don't need to change any settings. Once the update installs, restart ARCx and your sounds should play normally. If test.mp3 still doesn't play after the update, send me a fresh log and I'll take another look.
Stay tuned for an update tonight, that also includes a diagnostic screen to make sure all services are running.