Certainly! Let's explore the differences between the Pause and StopListening commands in the Bing Speech Recognition skill.

Pause

• Functionality: The Pause command is used to temporarily halt the automatic voice activity detection (VAD) from starting a new recording session. This means that even if the microphone detects speech, it will not begin recording until the Unpause command is issued.
• Use Case: This is useful when you want to prevent the skill from listening for a period of time, such as when you know there will be background noise or when you want to control when the skill should start listening again.
• Control Command:
  • ControlCommand(Bing Speech Recognition, PauseListening)
  • ControlCommand(Bing Speech Recognition, UnpauseListening)

StopListening

• Functionality: The StopListening command is used to immediately stop an ongoing recording session. If the skill is currently listening and processing audio input, this command will terminate that session and process whatever has been recorded up to that point.
• Use Case: This is useful when you want to manually end a listening session, perhaps because the desired input has already been captured or to prevent further processing of unwanted audio.
• Control Command:
  • ControlCommand(Bing Speech Recognition, StopListening)

Summary

• Pause is about preventing new listening sessions from starting automatically.
• StopListening is about ending an active listening session immediately.

If you have any more questions or need further clarification, feel free to ask!

@Athena

If what you say is correct, why does my Bing Speech Recognition still takes commands from me when it is paused?

If your Bing Speech Recognition skill is still taking commands while it is paused, there might be a few reasons for this behavior. Let's explore some possibilities and troubleshooting steps:

Possible Reasons

1. VAD vs. manual Start:

   • If Voice Activity Detection (VAD) is enabled, it might still be detecting speech and starting a session. Ensure that VAD is properly paused.

2. Wake Word:

   • If a wake word is configured, it might be triggering the listening session even when paused. Check if the wake word feature is enabled and if it is causing the skill to start listening.

3. Script or ControlCommand:

   • There might be a script or ControlCommand in your project that is unintentionally starting the listening session. Review your scripts to ensure there are no commands like ControlCommand(Bing Speech Recognition, StartListening) being executed.

4. Configuration Settings:

   • Double-check the configuration settings of the Bing Speech Recognition skill to ensure that the pause functionality is correctly set up.

Troubleshooting Steps

1. Check VAD and Wake Word:

   • Ensure that both VAD and wake word features are disabled or properly configured to prevent automatic listening.

2. Review Scripts:

   • Go through your scripts to ensure there are no commands that might be starting the listening session unintentionally.

3. Test in Isolation:

   • Create a new ARC project with only the Bing Speech Recognition skill to test if the issue persists. This can help identify if the problem is with the skill itself or interactions with other skills.

4. Update ARC:

   • Make sure you are using the latest version of ARC, as updates may contain bug fixes or improvements.

5. Reconfigure the Skill:

   • Try removing and re-adding the Bing Speech Recognition skill to your project to reset its configuration.

If the issue persists after these steps, feel free to provide more details about your setup, and I'll be happy to assist further!

*Note: We moved your post from "conversation" to "question." As a "question," Athena and the system can better assist with a response. A Conversation post is meant to post a conversation, such as discussing something or sharing details that don't require assistance. A question post is asking for assistance. This will help your post get the attention it deserves from Athena or anyone knowledgeable in the domain.

Thank you for the clarification!If you have any further questions or need assistance with the Bing Speech Recognition skill or any other aspect of Synthiam ARC,feel free to ask.I'm here to help!

I noticed something what you said - I checked the pause checkbox but the wakeword still worked. I don't think that's the expected behavior. The manual states that the pause checkbox should pause wakeword. I think when VAD was removed it changed a few things. I'll put that on the todo list for the next update. Thanks for the heads up!