DRIVER: mControl Text to Speech Driver

[otech]

Embedded Automation is proud to release the mControl Text to Speech driver (beta version).

The Text to Speech driver will enable you to use the Microsoft Speech API 5 in order to make your Vista or XP machine (32 or 64 bit) speak text as part of a macro action. This is done through a socket connection, so everything can be hosted on one machine, or the mControl server can be on one machine, and the speech command can be spoken on another machine.

There are two parts to the driver. There is a controller and a TCP client. The controller sends TCP messages from the mControl server to the TCP client. The TCP client, an executable, takes these messages and sends them to the Speech API. The voice used will be the computer's default voice, which is modifiable by the user in the speech section of the control panel. Different voices should allow for different languages. The driver has been successfully tested on XP and Vista machines.

Source code and instructions are also included in the download. This driver can be used as a model for communication with other windows APIs. The

The beta version of the driver can be downloaded here. You will need to add the relevant libraries for your version of mControl to the \mControl\server\plugins folder. For mControl v2.1 RCGOLD2, these can be found in the lib folder of the TTS driver download. For newer versions, you will need to find these files by downloading the DDK and the Generic Driver for your version of mControl. If these files are not in the plugins folder, the speech device you created will show up as unavailable.

Original Version:
http://www.embeddedautomation.com/mc...rol%20v2.1.zip

Updated for mControl v2.1.3818 (March 23, 2011):
http://www.embeddedautomation.com/do...v2.1.3818).zip
- This version has validated client (talking) opeartion on Windows 7 (incl. x64 platforms)

The zip file contains:

-Documentation (installation, setup)
-Source code
-xml and dll files for the controller
-exe, exe.config and SpeechLib.dll files for the TCP client
-necessary referenced libraries


Here are a few screenshots that show some of the functionality:

Client :



mControl Editor Text to Speech macro action:



More tips on writing drivers will follow.

[egicontrols]

The driver doesn't seem to work with Windows XP 64-bit. The drivers seem to be installed, but are not communicating with the client service. The client service looks to be installed.



I can create an action for TTS in a macro, but nothing happens when I run it.

None the less, the TTS is a very welcome addition for mControl. Looking forward to seeing as part of the install package.

[katrash]

When "Unavailable" appears under the device name this means its driver is not enabled. You need to enable the TTS driver using "mControl Automation Manager" then apply (and restart the service).

[egicontrols]

Thanks for the reply katrash. I tried this but still no luck.



Should I be doing anything with the dll files the lib folder? Copying them anywhere? I don't see anything in the instructions besides leaving the files in this folder alone.

[otech]

You will need to copy EADriverBaseGeneric.dll to the \mControl\server\plugins folder. This can be found in the lib folder of the TTS driver download. If this file is not in the plugins folder, the speech device you created will show up as unavailable.

Once you do this, in the zone view, your speech device should show up with some controls, and you should be able to send a speech command from there.

This should take care of the mControl side of the problem. There may be other issues with using Speech API 5 on a 64 bit system.

[doc]

Copying EADriverBaseGeneric.dll to the plugins folder results in the service being unable to start; it starts, then stops immediately (Vista 64-bit). Only removing it allows the service to start correctly.

[egicontrols]

Thanks otech. The step you mentioned allows the TTS to work with XP 64bit.

You will need to copy EADriverBaseGeneric.dll to the \mControl\server\plugins folder

Another question regarding set up, is it possible to hide the TTS device from a zone? Or to have it work without being set up as a device in a zone? It just sits in the zone, cant do anything with it from IE interface.

For the future, it would be a nice feature to have dynamic TTS. For example, the ability to read an RSS feed, read you the weather, etc.

I really like the idea of TTS, though. It adds another dimesion to the system. I hope that this will be part of the standard install package. Unfortunately the newer MS voices cant be added to XP64. I hope Vista has some nice voices. If not, maybe adding an AT&T natural voice to the package would be an option. Microsoft Sam is scary.

[otech]

egicontrols:
The Windows Vista default voice, Microsoft Anna, is a big step up from Microsoft Sam. As for hiding a device, we may add this feature for a future build, but there is currently no way to do this. For now, you need to have the device in the zone view for the TTS driver to work. mControl Editor is currently the only way to interact with it. Thanks for the feedback.

doc:
We will do some testing on Vista 64 bit and try to get it working.

[otech]

doc,

We tested it out on a vista 64 bit machine and it worked by using the instructions as written and copying over EADriverBaseGeneric.dll. If you could send an email to support@embeddedautomation.com with any relevant log files, as well as your database and any other relevant information (zip the attachments), we will try and debug the issue.

[Pat C]

Is there any way to automatically start the client (preferably as a service) and connect it on startup?