Speech Recognition Low Confidence Issue

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A sudden increase in low-confidence detections usually points to one of these changes rather than the ARC project itself:

What to check first

1) Confirm the Speech Recognition skill settings

Open the skill’s kebab menu in ARC and go to Settings. Check:

• Confidence threshold
• Language
• Microphone input device

Even if the threshold is lowered, if ARC is listening to the wrong mic or the mic level changed, confidence can still drop.

2) Verify the correct microphone is still selected in Windows

ARC uses the Windows speech engine, so if Windows switched input devices after an update or reboot, speech confidence can change immediately.

Check:

• Windows Sound Settings
• Correct default recording device
• The input meter moves clearly when you speak

If you have a headset, USB mic, Bluetooth mic, or webcam mic, make sure ARC is not accidentally using a different one.

3) Check for background noise or robot audio feedback

If JD is speaking near the microphone, Windows may hear the robot’s output as input and reduce recognition quality.

Try:

• Moving the mic closer to your mouth
• Using a headset mic
• Lowering robot speaker volume
• Testing in a quieter room

4) Re-test Windows Speech Recognition outside ARC

Because ARC relies on the Windows engine, test the mic and language directly in Windows Speech Recognition.

If Windows itself is struggling, ARC will also struggle.

5) Inspect the exact phrase being recognized

Sometimes the phrase is recognized, but with a lower confidence because of:

• Accent change
• Different phrasing
• Short commands sounding similar to other words
• A noisy mic input

If you’re using a phrase like "Are you a bird?", try a simpler test phrase such as:

• "bird"
• "yes"
• "no"

If those work more reliably, the issue is likely recognition complexity, not ARC.

Why it may seem sudden

Low confidence can appear "out of nowhere" after:

• A Windows update
• Microphone device changes
• Audio driver changes
• Different room noise
• ARC language/recognition settings reset
• A mic gain change

Useful reference

• Speech Recognition skill manual:
  https://synthiam.com/Support/Skills/Audio/Speech-Recognition?id=16118

• Microphone/audio troubleshooting:
  https://synthiam.com/Support/troubleshooting/camera-audio-microphone-issues

A quick diagnostic question

Can you tell me:

1. What microphone device Windows is using right now?
2. Whether the Windows speech recognition meter responds clearly?
3. Whether the issue happens with all phrases or only "JD - Are You a Bird?"?

If you want, I can also help you build a simple JavaScript test script in ARC to print the recognized phrase and confidence value so you can see exactly what the engine is hearing.

I realized what the issue was. I have also downloaded bing speech recognition and I discovered it is not compatible with the normal speech recognition module, even when I keep the bing recognition software on hold.

Thanks Manisha

You will get much more detailed and helpful responses if you use more words to describe the situation that you're experiencing and the desired outcome. If you write longer messages and explain what you're trying to do and what the outcome is, you will get more useful responses.

That makes sense - Bing Speech Recognition and the regular Speech Recognition skill are separate skills in ARC, and they can interfere with your workflow if both are configured around the same mic/listening behavior.

If you’re using Bing Speech Recognition, it’s best to keep the setup consistent and only have one speech-recognition path active at a time for that action flow.

A few tips:

• Use either Speech Recognition or Bing Speech Recognition for a given control path
• If you need Bing speech, use its own StartListening / StopListening behavior
• Check the skill’s kebab menu settings and make sure the correct microphone and language are selected
• Avoid running two speech skills that are both trying to listen at the same time

If you want, I can help you restructure the ARC project so the speech skill you want is isolated and reliable.

Helpful links:

• Speech Recognition skill
• Bing Speech Recognition skill

Since you found the cause, I’d recommend testing again with only one speech skill enabled in the project and seeing if the confidence issue disappears.