Bing Speech Recognition

How to use the Bing Speech Recognition robot skill

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The Bing Speech Recognition robot skill for ARC uses Microsoft’s cloud-based Bing Speech Recognition service, which is one of the most accurate speech-to-text engines available. This skill converts spoken audio into text that can be used to control your robot, trigger scripts, or enable conversational AI.

Microphone Recommendation

Robots typically generate significant background noise from motors, servos, fans, and speakers. For this reason, mounting a microphone directly on the robot is often not ideal. The recommended approach is to place the microphone on the controlling PC or laptop, on yourself, or somewhere in the room away from the robot.

Increasing microphone gain allows speech to be detected across larger rooms, but higher gain also increases the chance of false positives. Experiment with microphone placement and gain levels to find the best balance for your environment. For best results, use a headset or Bluetooth microphone rather than a built-in laptop microphone.

Main Window

Configuration

How to Use Bing Speech Recognition

A detailed tutorial demonstrates using this skill with PandoraBot AI for conversational robots. View the tutorial here.

Using Bing Speech for Conversational Input

To begin speech recognition, press the Start Listening button or trigger listening via a wake word or ControlCommand(). Recognized text is stored in the $BingSpeech variable.

Automatic speech detection using voice activity is unreliable in noisy environments. The recommended approach is a push-to-talk system, where listening is explicitly started and stopped via software or a physical button.

The example below uses the SCRIPT skill and a button connected to EZ-B port D0 (configured with a pull-up resistor).

while (true) {

  // Wait for the button press (pulls D0 low)
  Digital.wait(d0, false);

  // Start Bing Speech Recognition
  ControlCommand("Bing Speech Recognition", "StartListening");

  // Wait for the button release (D0 returns high)
  Digital.wait(d0, true);

  // Stop listening and begin transcription
  ControlCommand("Bing Speech Recognition", "StopListening");
}
  

Videos

Example usage combined with Cognitive Vision and Cognitive Emotion.

Requirements

Recommended Hardware

Headset or External Microphone

A headset or external microphone significantly reduces background noise and prevents the recognizer from hearing the robot’s own voice. This improves accuracy and reduces false positives.

Resources

Configure Audio Input Device

1. Right-click the speaker icon in the Windows system tray
2. Select Open Sound Settings
3. Verify the correct microphone is selected and responding to audio
4. Adjust microphone volume so normal speech peaks near the middle of the VU meter

Control Commands for the Bing Speech Recognition 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.

// Starts listening and returns the translated text. No scripts are executed. (Returns String)

• controlCommand("Bing Speech Recognition", "GetText")

// Start listening and convert the speech into text. Sets the global variable and executes the script.

• controlCommand("Bing Speech Recognition", "StartListening")

// Stop the current listening process.

• controlCommand("Bing Speech Recognition", "StopListening")

// Pause listening so the wakeword (if enabled) does not trigger listening.

• controlCommand("Bing Speech Recognition", "PauseListening")

// Unpause listening so the wakeword (if enabled) will trigger listening.

• controlCommand("Bing Speech Recognition", "UnpauseListening")

// Return the status of the pause checkbox. (Returns Boolean [true or false])

• controlCommand("Bing Speech Recognition", "GetPause")