Audio File Out EZB

How to use the Audio File Out EZB robot skill

Play an audio file (MP3 or WAV) from your computer's file system out of the EZ-B's onboard speaker.

Overview

This robot skill streams an audio file from a path on your PC directly out of the speaker connected to your primary EZ-B. Instead of playing through your computer's sound card, the audio is sent to the EZ-B and played from the robot itself.

This is useful when you want sound effects, voice clips, music, or alerts to come from the robot rather than from your computer.

Requirements

• A connected EZ-B (the skill uses your primary EZ-B #0 connection).
• The audio file must exist on the computer running ARC, referenced by its full file path.

Note: Audio is converted and streamed to the EZ-B for playback through the robot's speaker. Make sure your EZ-B is connected before sending a Play command.

The Skill Interface

When you add this skill to your project, you'll see a small panel with:

• Stop button - Immediately stops any audio currently playing out of the EZ-B.
• Log area - Displays status messages, such as which file is being played and any errors (for example, if a file path doesn't exist or the file type isn't supported).

Tips & Troubleshooting

• Use full file paths. Reference the file by its complete path (for example c:\sounds\hello.mp3). In JavaScript/Python scripts, remember to escape backslashes (\\).
• Only MP3 and WAV are supported. Any other file type will produce an "Unsupported audio file type" message in the log.
• Check the log area if you don't hear anything - it reports missing files, unsupported types, and playback errors.
• Confirm your EZ-B is connected. Audio plays from the primary EZ-B's speaker, so a connection is required before sending the Play command.
• One instance only. You cannot add this skill to a project more than once.

Control Commands for the Audio File Out EZB robot skill

There are Control Commands available for this robot skill which allows the skill to be controlled programmatically from scripts or other robot skills. These commands enable you to automate actions, respond to sensor inputs, and integrate the robot skill with other systems or custom interfaces. If you're new to the concept of Control Commands, we have a comprehensive manual available here that explains how to use them, provides examples to get you started and make the most of this powerful feature.

Play

Plays the specified audio file out of the EZ-B speaker.

• Parameter 1: The name (full path) of the audio file to play. Must be a .mp3 or .wav file.

JavaScript example

ControlCommand("Audio File Out EZB", "Play", "c:\\sounds\\hello.mp3");

Python example

ControlCommand("Audio File Out EZB", "Play", "c:\\sounds\\hello.mp3")

If the file does not exist or is not a supported type, an error message is written to the skill's log area.

Stop

Stops the audio that is currently playing out of the EZ-B. This does the same thing as pressing the Stop button on the skill's panel.

JavaScript example

ControlCommand("Audio File Out EZB", "Stop");

IsPlaying

Returns a boolean (true / false) indicating whether audio is currently playing out of the EZ-B. Use this to check status before or after triggering playback.

JavaScript example

var busy = ControlCommand("Audio File Out EZB", "IsPlaying");

if (busy) {
  print("Audio is still playing");
}

Typical Usage Examples

Play a sound, then wait until it finishes

ControlCommand("Audio File Out EZB", "Play", "c:\\sounds\\startup.wav");

while (ControlCommand("Audio File Out EZB", "IsPlaying")) {
  sleep(100);
}

print("Done playing");

Interrupt a long clip

ControlCommand("Audio File Out EZB", "Play", "c:\\music\\song.mp3");

// later, stop it
ControlCommand("Audio File Out EZB", "Stop");