Resolved by Rich!
Hi everyone.
A bit of background.
I am currently waiting for my EZ Robot order to arrive which should hopefully be here in a couple of weeks time, so in the mean time I have been browsing around ARC software and had a quick play around with the speech synthesis settings and having it speak via my Pandorabot which is currently being trained. Everything worked fine but had a slight issue with the actual voice, that being the fact I am using Windows 7 64 bit which means I only have "Microsoft Anna's" voice and nothing else. A slight issue as 1.) I really don't like that voice much, and 2.) my robot, K-9, is going to be male.
Long story short, after going to the end of the internet and back trying to find how I could add more voices that would work with Windows 7 narrator, I came across a thread on, guess where, EZ Robots.com eyeroll (should have looked here first lol) talking about speech synthesis for Windows 7 narrator, and there, was a suggestion for some really good voices which was from Cepstral.com (see links below). I popped there and tried out some demo voices and found one I really liked which worked great with ARC. The full voice version (about $35 / 20) also comes with robotic voice effects which apparently work with ARC and the EZ-B aswell which is great, so problem solved. Well not quite and this is where I need the help. confused
My question.
Ultimately, K-9 will be controlled via my iPhone and maybe also a tablet PC, as it will be a lot more convenient than carrying my laptop around, and he will not have an onboard PC, only the EZ-B4, so no problems there, except for the voice which, if I do purchase the full Cepstral voice, it can only be stored and used on my laptop. So does anyone know, how will I be able to get K-9 to talk, hold conversations, run scripts ect using my Pandorabot via the EZ-B4 with a really good sounding male voice? I'm guessing Cepstral will be out of the question which will be a real shame as I don't think there is an iPhone version, unless there is a way to use it that I have not thought of.
Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions would really be appreciated guys.
Cheers,
Steve.
The V4 has a few phrases it says by itself, "battery is low", "connected to the network" etc. but everything else is done using Windows.
I've been tempted to put the Acer W3 810 in to Melvin however I didn't buy it for controlling robots (I actually bought it to use in the car along with vagcom and other OBD software). If I can scrape together enough funds for another W3 (they are cheap in the USA but over here they still sell for over £200 which sucks a little) I'll throw it in Melvin (or use it to control Melvin). Being small and capable of running ARC flawlessly it's ideal.
Thanks, I need to spend more time with Jarvis, he's been neglected recently for one reason or another.
Yeah, the W3 is a great tablet.
But, I have to say - Holy cow! That K-9 is wicked! I'm incredibly jealous.
If you end up using audio samples instead of speech synthesis, it will be a fun day of watching old doctor who and k-9 & friends to make samples!
Thanks for the kind words DJ, I'm glad you like my lil electronic friend. Still a lot of work needs doing, internals with the EZ-B and servos ect in the body, and to make and attach his head. I'll be sure to post a few pics and videos on the project showcase when he is done for you and everyone to see.
Funny you should mention watching old episodes. I did exactly that a few months ago before I started the build for some pointers on his body design. All very well looking at pictures, but you can't beat watching K-9 in action. Truly one of my favourite companions.
In return for your nice comments, I'd just like to take this opportunity and say that with every aspect of EZ robots I have seen so far, you and your team truly have done an exceptional job with what you have done so far, and that goes for this forum too. Some really friendly and helpful members on here. Coming across EZ robots was the main inspiration behind making my K-9 in the first place.
Keep up the great work.
Steve.
DJ will be watching your K9 with keen eyes, if you haven't read yet DJ is a huge Dr Who fan. Personally I've never watched it (there goes all of my hard earned respect...)
Rich, you've never watched Doctor Who? How can you show your face around hear now eek. Just kidding buddy. It's not to everybody's taste. No I didn't realise DJ was a Dr Who fan, although I did see his K-9 he built a while ago. Pretty cool.
In regards to voice synth I may just go with your idea of using a Windows tablet, at least until the iOS app is released with speech synth ect. It's portable enough for what I want but that won't be for some time yet. As you mentioned, the Acre W3 or similar are not exactly cheap hear in the UK are they.
I know your not an iOS user Rich, but can you or anyone tell me how is, say an iPhone, currently used with EZ robots at the moment? I haven't seen an app for it anywhere although the website does say it's available from the App Store.
Steve.
I do keep meaning to get them and watch them I just don't have time to sit around watching TV.
iOS app is not currently available yet. There wouldn't be any point just yet since it wont work for the V3 EZ-B since it's bluetooth and Apple don't like to let users use the bluetooth for much. The V4 is WiFi so it will be compatible and it has been mentioned the app should be out after the revolution robots and V4 boards are shipped, although no real date or time scale has been given.
At least that's where I know it is at, there may have been an update I missed (but I don't think there is).
As for the W3 tablet, I got mine from Argos when I bought it, believe it or not they were cheapest but I think it was on offer. Ebuyer have them too. Or keep an eye on ebay for a cheap second hand one.
That explains why I couldn't find the app then. That's cool. At least I know I didn't miss something. I actually forgot the V3 was Bluetooth. I do like my iPhone but the Bluetooth restrictions really are ridiculous, especially in this day and age.
Argos ain't exactly the cheapest your right, so you had a good find there. I did see a W3 on Amazon for about £200 but it will be a couple of months until I get one. but I will keep a look out elsewhere.
Thanks for your advice you have offered me Rich, and to DJ and Technopro.
Steve.
I do have one final question on this subject to wrap this up, for anyone with experience with voice synthesis and iOS.
Is there a voice synthesis website where I can download a good sounding voice that works with Windows narrator which also has an iOS mobile app, where I could use the same sounding voice with both Windows and with an iPhone? That would help me a bit for now as I could hold conversations using my iPhone and use the Windows laptop version with movement script ect with the EZ-B and have the same sounding voice throughout.
Steve.