Speech


Repository| Issues

eSpeak is a compact open source software speech synthesizer for English and other languages, for Linux and Windows.

Learn more about eSpeak here.

How to Install

Install the module via NPM:

$ npm install cylon cylon-speech

After the module is installed, but before you run any scripts using it, ensure the espeak utility is installed on your computer.

There are packages available for Linux, OS X, and Windows.

Linux

On most Linux distros, there should already be a package you can install. If you use Aptitude Package Manager (apt-get), just install it with:

$ sudo apt-get install espeak

This is also true for Single-Board Linux Computers like the Raspberry-Pi and the Beaglebone Black.

Once the package has finished installing, try this command to verify everything is working as expected:

$ espeak "This is awesome, Linux speaking"

If you hear your computer talking to you, everything is working as expected. If not, please refer to the espeak docs for more help.

OS X

Install espeak through Homebrew.

$ brew install espeak

After installing, test it out:

$ espeak "This is awesome, OS X speaking"

On Windows

For Windows systems there is a .exe file you can download from SourceForge.

Same as with the above operating systems, make sure it works as advertized when the instalation has completed.

$ espeak "This is awesome, Windows OS speaking!"

How to Use

var Cylon = require('cylon');

Cylon.robot({
  // voice for espeak can be specified either in one string or as params for the adaptor.
  // both connections below will reproduce with the same voice.
  // connections: { speech: { adaptor: 'speech', language: 'en, gender: 'f', 'voice: '3' } },
  connections: {
    speech: { adaptor: 'speech', voice: 'en-f3', speed: 130 }
  },

  devices: {
    mouth: { driver: 'speech' }
  },

  work: function(my) {
    my.mouth.say("This is awesome!");
    my.mouth.say("I'm a Cylon.JS robot, and I'm talking!");
  }
}).start();

Drivers

There is only one driver for Speech as listed below.