How Tos

Last reviewed: 2/19/2021

Article ID: H012102

HOW: Interacting with users for hands-free operation

The information in this article applies to:

  • Talk&Listen

Summary

Applications interact with end users by talking and listening and offering hands-free operation.

More Information

Chant Developer Workbench 2020 includes Talk&Listen application helper to simplify the process of integrating speech synthesis and speech recognition for hands-free operation.

Sometimes applications need a simple way to synthesize and recognize. Chant Talk & Listen application helper enables applications to synthesize and recognize speech without having to worry about events, properties, and callback handlers.

// Instantiate TalkListen
NTalkListen _TalkListen = new NTalkListen();
if (_TalkListen != null)
{
    // Set license properties
    //_TalkListen.SetLicense("LicenseRegistrationNumber", "LicenseSerialNumber");
    // Else, for evaluation, set only evaluation serial number
    _TalkListen.SetLicense(string.Empty, "EvaluationSerialNumber");
    NSAPI5Synthesizer _Synthesizer = _TalkListen.CreateSAPI5Synthesizer();
    if (_Synthesizer != null)
    {
        _Synthesizer.Talk("This is the easiest way to synthesize.");
    }
    NSAPI5Recognizer _Recognizer = _TalkListen.CreateSAPI5Recognizer();
    if (_Recognizer != null)
    {
        string recognitionResults = _Recognizer.Listen();
    }
}

Syntax Options

The Talk method has two optional parameters that may be used to control speech synthesis:

  • text - (required) The text to synthesize.
  • name - (optional) The speech synthesizer voice name.
  • async - (optional) True or False for asynchronous synthesis. Note some synthesizers only perform asynchronous synthesis. The default is False.

The Listen method has three optional parameters that may be used to control speech recognition:

  • timeout - (optional) The maximum time to listen in seconds. If the value is 0, listening occurs until speech is recognized.
  • commands - (optional) A comma separated list of phrases to use for recognition.
  • grammar - (optional) The file path of a speech recognition grammar to use for recognition.
  • name - (optional) The speech recognizer name or language.

Development and Deployment

Talk & Listen applications require the Talk & Listen library and the applicable SpeechKit Speech API library:

  • C++Builder, C++, and Delphi applications require the Talk & Listen library (CTalkListen.dll or CTalkListenX64.dll) and the applicable SpeechKit Speech API library in the same directory as the application .exe.
  • Java applications require the talklisten.jar and chant-shared.jar in the target system Java JRE lib directory and/or ensure the classpath includes the path where the talklisten.jar and chant-shared.jar libraries are placed on the target system. The Talk & Listen library (JTalkListen.dll or JTalkListenX64.dll) and the applicable SpeechKit Speech API library must be in the target system Java JRE bin directory.
  • C# and VB .NET applications require the Talk & Listen library (NTalkListen.dll or NTalkListen.dll) to be registered as a COM library on the target system and the applicable SpeechKit Speech API library in the same directory as the application .exe.
  • C# and VB .NET WinRT applications require the assembly libraries (Chant.Shared.WinRT.WindowsMedia.dll and or Chant.TalkListen.WinRT.WindowsMedia.dll) embedded in the application or located in the same directory as the application .exe.

Speech API SpeechKit Speech API class SpeechKit Speech API library
Acapela TTSCAcaTTSSynthesizerCSpeechKit.AcaTTS.dll or CSpeechKitX64.AcaTTS.dll
Cepstral SwiftCSwiftSynthesizerCSpeechKit.Swift.dll or CSpeechKitX64.Swift.dll
CereProc CereVoiceCCereVoiceSynthesizerCSpeechKit.CereVoice.dll or CSpeechKitX64.CereVoice.dll
Microsoft SAPI 5CSAPI5Recognizer or CSAPI5SynthesizerCSpeechKit.SAPI5.dll or CSpeechKitX64.SAPI5.dll
Microsoft Speech PlatformCMSPRecognizer or CMSPSynthesizerCSpeechKit.MSP.dll or CSpeechKitX64.MSP.dll
Microsoft WindowsMediaNWindowsMediaRecognizer or NWindowsMediaSynthesizerNA
Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeakingCDgnRecognizerCSpeechKit.Dgn.dll or CSpeechKitX64.Dgn.dll
Nuance VocalizerCVocalizerSynthesizerCSpeechKit.Vocalizer.dll or CSpeechKitX64.Vocalizer.dll