Voice Commands Via Iphone/Ipod

[qu1ckdry]

Hey all!

I've had VoxCommando for a few days and really loving it! I've got some home automation kit arriving soon and plan to use Vox to control it...

As I don't planned to install mics everywhere I thought it'd be a good idea to use my Iphone as in one of the videos. I've got the app to successfullly send my .wav file to my ftp directory which triggers an event in EventGhost but I've no idea how to get Vox to listen to it!

Any help or suggestions are much appreciated!

[jitterjames]

the simplest solution is to use PocketAudio (Microphone).  I forget the price but it's pretty cheap.  Once installed, you will be able to use your iphone/ipod as a microphone on your pc, so any application that can access the mic will treat it like a regular microphone.  I have found the quality to be pretty good, but there is a slight delay (<2 seconds).  You don't need to hit send or anything like in the video.  The biggest drawback to this option is that it is always listening as long as the program is running, and it can be a real drain on your iphone batteries.

The other option, which was the first that I discovered is to use recordPad.  This option is free, but you need to run an ftp server on the same machine as VC that can receive the file and save it to a drive on your computer.  This option is obviously more difficult to set up.  I am no longer using this method and I never implemented the options interface for you to choose a directory to monitor.  If you want to use this method, let me know and I'll add the code for you.

I don't use either method very often, because of the battery drain, but if I had to choose I would probably stick with PocketAudio.

http://www.senstic.com/iphone/pocketaudio/pocketaudio.aspx

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocket-recordpad/id361034117?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D6

[jitterjames]

re-reading your post, I realize that you've already got the app and the ftp server set up, so I'll go ahead and add this feature to the options.  I'm sure it will prove useful anyway.  Thanks for reminding me!

The ideal would be an iPhone app that could send audio to VoxCommando and receive feedback (text, images, TTS).  If the interface could be customized to only listen when a button is pushed and then send the audio in realtime until the button were released, then we'd really have something! Unfortunately I know nothing of iPhone development, but I think one requirement is that you have a Mac, which I do not.

The other option is a good quality, small, comfortable, headset that does not use bluetooth.  I believe such things exists, but they are very expensive still.  Perhaps bluetooth will get an upgrade soon, or something new will replace it with better audio...

I get excellent results with my plantronics headset, but it is big, not very comfortable to wear, and it has over the ear headphones that block out the rest of the world a little too much...

[qu1ckdry]

Thanks for the fast response!

I'll give PocketAudio a try until the feature is added. I'll report back on my experience and any battery drain issues!

A dedicated app would be awesome. If you hold down the home button on the Iphone you can control the Iphone via voice (next track, call bob etc.). Some intergration there would be perfect...

[jitterjames]

try this as a test.  It is hard wired to use the folder c:\wavwatcher

if you need to use another folder (other than c:\wavwatcher) because it's too hard to change your ftp setup let me know which folder you want and I'll "rewire" it...

This was designed to work with fileZilla ftp server.  The way fileZilla works is that it renames the file when the upload is complete.  So I am using a file rename as the trigger.  Depending on how your ftp server does it, this may not work.  I tried using the file changed event but it caused all sorts of problems because VC was trying to read the file while it was still being written.

[qu1ckdry]

Thanks for the info on the ftp method. I have to admit I haven't tried it - the pocket audio method is so much simpler! I'm using it successfully to control the computer from wherever I am in the house. I don't keep it running all the time on the Iphone, I find the program launches fast enough to only have it running when its needed.

[jitterjames]

Great.  Are you using the iPhone regular "phone" mic, or the headset mic, or something else?  Just wondering because I have an iPod touch, not an iPhone.  In theory you could also use the senstic software as a sound output so that vox could send information back to you.  I am not able to use anything other than the default input for recognition, but I may be able to allow selection of different outputs for TTS and .wav playback. hmmm.  That way you could ask "what artist is this" and get the answer without disrupting the actual music playback on the main speakers.

What kind of stuff are you controlling with VC?  Media software?  Home automation?  Other?