
rgordon
USA
Asked
— Edited
I will be using an on board Mini ITX mb. for autonomous operations. Normally I will be using a Bluetooth microphone whenever giving specific commands to the robot.
However, what would be a good brand of omnidirectional microphone to use (mount) on the robot so it can hear clearly when others speak to it or ask it questions? I would like to find one for under $50. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I'm just about to risk losing bluetooth connection to the EZ-B by attempting to connect a PS3/phone BT headset to my PC... As far as I'm concerned this is the only low cost reliable way. (Wish me luck!..)
I have these for the purpose of registering sound in a directional manor , but a Bluetooth mic is ideal like rich suggests for primary use of voice recognition. I sometimes like to do the hard things though lol.
Josh, I could not get your video to play. I think the mic in the picture you posted would come in handy for me later. At $6.88 how can you go wrong ...
Dave, I may experiment later with your method.
Rich, I would like to hear how you experiment goes using the PS3/phone BT headset.
www.logitech.com/en-nz/support/usb-desktop-microphone?crid=409&osid=23&bit=64
I make sure that I select clear phrases rather than individual words to recognize.
Finally got my Turtle Beach Ear Force PBX headset paired and working with the PC. This is a cool headset as it can be paired to two devices at the same time (designed for phone and PS3, with it being set to the PS3 as default but if your phone rings it switches over automatically). It also has a jack on it for an external speaker and mic (designed for non bluetooth headsets).
Quality isn't the best in the world but it's good enough to control Jarvis while I have music or a movie playing, and I don't have anything on quiet.
Out of the box, windows has problems with Bluetooth profiles for headsets. This was the main concern since the headset would not install under Windows. No drivers were found and it just didn't work. But, by installing third party bluetooth drivers/software it does work, and the EZ-B still connects without any issues (so far).
So how to do it...
Firstly you need to download and install this zip file (Broadcom Bluetooth - 57.7Mb).
Once installed, pair the headset as the headset's instructions.
Set the default recording device to the headset's mic.
And that's it.
I've rebooted a couple of times and connected to ARC successfully after installing the Broadcom drivers. The BT stack still reports that it is the Microsoft one which is great. The only thing I haven't done is tried updating firmware but I suspect that if ARC connects then so will the firmware tool.
I'm tempted to fit this in Melvin and run an external speaker and mic for a nice cheap method of both voice recognition and speech for the robot. And best of all, it charges from USB so I'm sure a quick mod of a USB cable to plug in to the EZ-B 5v rail will keep the headset charged when needed (untested).