Servo - March 2014

the phrase is done with no guessing. If you are interested in hearing what phrase "domo" speaks, you can listen to a sound file that I have placed at the article link, along with my entire Arduino program. You won't be surprised.

The first phrase it uses is the "stock" voice of the Soundgin. The second phrase uses the same allophones, but with emphasis placed on the allophones. The SpeakCon() function uses the voice control command to apply your choice of stresses and controls to every allophone. My application is crude, but shows interesting results. But, let’s face it, sometimes you have to get used to the results to understand what it is saying.

Good programming practice shows that abstracting the lower level details of a command dealing with hardware makes your code more readable. Listing 3 shows some of those abstractions that I used to make my main code more readable and easier to write, as well.

Finally — for those that are interested — Listing 4 is the list of preset sounds that the Soundgin has preprogrammed in.

I’m not going to waste ink on including all of the commands and voice allophones in this article; you can get the documentation at the location I gave above. I didn't bother to abstract them in my program either, since programming with just numbers is WAY faster (if you are adept at using the number pad on your keyboard, anyway).

Conclusion

There you have it! An Arduino project that allows you to control the Soundgin well enough to produce impressive sounds and, well, interesting voices. Those of you that get the source from the article link will see a SetPitch() function. This sets the pitch (via musical note) of the voice synthesizer. You can get any pitch from "bullfrog C" up to "Alvin and the Chipmunks" with that. Some of the results will leave you rolling on the floor laughing!

You’ll find both the source code and my sound recordings in the ArduinoSoundgin.zip.

You can get the Soundgin documentation from the good folks at babblebot.net. While you are at it, you might check out the GinSing Arduino shield that uses their Babblebot chip which is identical to the Soundgin chip on the Savage Innovations board that is used in this article.

Have Fun!

Well, there you have it! You have used up another good reading session with Mr. Roboto. I hope that no permanent damage has been done to your psyche and that you have even learned something that you will use. Until next month, go build robots! If you have any questions, be sure to drop me an email at roboto@servo magazine.com and I'll do my best to answer them. SV

18 SERVO 03.2014

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