Hi Paul, I'm sorry to hear that you're in the same boat... but I'm also relieved to hear that I'm not alone, and that maybe there's still hope for me yet! I couldn't agree more about how lean and muddy the documentation is. I know that we are spoiled by the fine job that companies like Parallax do for documentation and support, but wow, this seems really poorly done - particularly on Sensory's part. After first receiving the kit, I thought the problem may be mine alone, since my programming experience sticks close to automation related ladder logic, Basic or varients of those two, but given what you're finding too may indicate that the issues extend out a little farther than first thought.
Gumby, I'm sorry to say that I can't even answer your question about the programming language for sure, I'm that confused at this point. I do know that you can send hex files and commands to it. The development board is made in the U.K. and the 'light' documentation that came with it is in english.
Frankly, after all my talking about the product earlier, I'm very embarrased to admit that I'm not able to tell you much of anything about it yet and I was stalling in hopes that I would get something figured out to report back to you all but, too much time was going by and I needed to lay the truth on the table.
That's the latest,
Tim
P.S. On a positive note, I did also purchase a speech synthesis V-Stamp and V-Pod(Interface board) from RC Systems that we also touched on earlier in the thread, and I'm very happy to report that those products are easy to use and fun to work with so far. I've only had those for a couple of days.
· O.K. Everybody, here is my latest experience and the new clues as to what's going on.· First, I noticed that in the latest issue of Nuts & Volts magazine,·MikroElektronika is running an ad for the Easy VR-Stamp Development Kit through·their new U.S. distributor and that the cost is $249 as compared to the $129 that I paid and that made me wonder.· Second, having purchased a development kit with 'Easy' in the name and not having been able to figure it out so far has been a bit frustrationg and a little embarrassing too, so I've been wondering what I've been missing here.· I decided to e-mail Sensory with the problem to see what they had to say, and thought I'd post the conversation here to pass the information along to you.
Here is what I asked:
Friday, 06/02/06
Hi Erika,
· You may recall that I contacted you six or eight weeks ago regarding your now obsolete VoiceDirect II product, and you· directed me toward your VR-Stamp module at that time.· Well, I took your advice and decided to purchase an Easy VR-Stamp Development Kit from MikroElektronika, plus an additional VR-Stamp and 2x16 LCD module, all of which I have recently received.· My current application lies in the speech recognition end of things so that is where I have focused my time with the kit so far.· To be honest though, I haven't been able to make heads or tails of, or do anything with the kit yet, except have the VR-Stamp play its' demo (music with voice-over) upon reset.· I'm wondering if I'm missing something big and obvious here, like software.· Your web site, mentions the FluentChip and FluentSoft software packages, but I don't understand if either of them is required for use with the VR-Stamp module or not.· As someone new to your products, would you have a moment to help me with a recommendation for what I may need to get going from here, or point me in the right direction of where to go for the information needed to educate myself in order to continue on to using what looks to be an exciting product of yours?· If additional software is needed, please include cost and availability information as well.
Thank you for your time and help,
Tim
And here is the reply from this morning:
Hi Tim,
I can understand your confusion!·
The MikroElektronika VR Stamp programmer board is a newer offering of theirs and until very recently, we hadn’t quite worked out the details of how to make our software available to their customers, as we typically sell it in a package with our VR Stamp programming materials.·
So – I’ve just confirmed that you can upgrade your package through MikroElektronika to include our Quick T2SI Lite software.· It will enable you to simply type in the words you want it to recognize!· Very cool and easy!
A VERY important caveat is that mikroE will only sell these to
folks that buy their kit, as an upgrade.· It is not offered to the
open market, nor is the pricing published on their public web
page.
Sensory does not plan to sell the Quick T2SI-Lite CD separately, but, like I said, you can contact mikroE for an upgrade.
I’m glad you asked – because I was curious about this too!
Thanks,
Erika
I am getting in touch with MikroElektronika and will let keep you updated.
O.K. Everybody, here is my latest experience and the new clues as to what's going on. First, I noticed that in the latest issue of Nuts & Volts magazine, MikroElektronika is running an ad for the Easy VR-Stamp Development Kit through their new U.S. distributor and that the cost is $249 as compared to the $129 that I paid and that made me wonder. Second, having purchased a development kit with 'Easy' in the name and not having been able to figure it out so far has been a bit frustrationg and a little embarrassing too, so I've been wondering what I've been missing here. I decided to e-mail Sensory with the problem to see what they had to say, and thought I'd post the conversation here to pass the information along to you.
Here is what I asked:
I can understand your confusion!
The MikroElektronika VR Stamp programmer board is a newer offering of theirs and until very recently, we hadn’t quite worked out the details of how to make our software available to their customers, as we typically sell it in a package with [noparse][[/noparse]u>our VR Stamp programming materials.
So – I’ve just confirmed that you can upgrade your package through MikroElektronika to include our Quick T2SI Lite software. It will enable you to simply type in the words you want it to recognize! Very cool and easy!
A VERY important caveat is that mikroE will only sell these to
folks that buy their kit, as an upgrade. It is not offered to the
open market, nor is the pricing published on their public web
page.
Sensory does not plan to sell the Quick T2SI-Lite CD separately, but, like I said, you can contact mikroE for an upgrade.
I’m glad you asked – because I was curious about this too!
Thanks,
Erika
[noparse][[/noparse]color=#000080>
<FONT color=black>I am getting in touch with MikroElektronika and will let keep you updated.
Tim
Tim,
Thanks for the effort here. I have been totally immersed in my house remodeling project to do anything more with my VR-Stamp kit.
I have also contacted Mikroelektronika, expressing my disappointment in the product and my ability to only listen to their demo. I also told them I didn't feel it was very good business to offer an item such as this at a fantastic price - but require additional purchases to actually "use" it.
Thanks for the encouragement all, it's much·appreciated.
· I noticed an ad in the latest Nuts & Volts for the Easy VR-Stamp Development Kit through·what looks like a new MikroElektronika distributor here in the U.S. called Circuit-Ed.com.· Intrestingly, the price of their kit, (that appears the same as what Paul and I bought)·is $249 vs the $129 that·we each·paid.· This begs the question, What's the difference?· Maybe software!··So I contacted them about these questions and this was their response:
Timothy,· The only software that we carry for this board is the RSC-4x mikroC software.· If any other software is available for the VR Stamp board mikroElektronika has not notified us about it.· If it is available we should be able to obtain it from them.· Most of the mE software we sell is also available as a download and you may be able to get a copy of this upgrade online, if it exists.· Since you purchased this board from the UK distributor I suggest asking them about it first.· You would likely be in their customer database and may qualify for discounts on software, if it is being offered.· You can also try contacting mikroElektronika: office@mikroe.com.· Regards, Warren Schroeder CIrcuitED
· So, per the information from Erika at Sensory, I have an e-mail in directly to MikroElektronika, and I'll let everyone know what comes back just as soon as I hear anything.
Using the board is really easy : the on board analog system (microphone + amp + speaker) is a very good idea, you·need no extra component nor extra board to make it work.
I played with all the examples that come with the compiler as .HEX files : they run fine.
I've been very impressed by the "t2simath" example in the "__Sensory_Examples" directory : you have to do simple calculations pronounced by the board (3 + 4, 9 - 2, ...) and say the result, the board will answer true, false, or will ask you to repeat. the voice recognition gives very good results, even with the voice of my 5yo daughter,·or with a noisy background.
It is a little bit harder to use the compiler.
Assuming it is installed on your computer :
First, you will have to install the development package for Sensory RSC MCU (MCA-SE assembler & MCLINK linker), just follow the instruction given by the build-in help of the RSC4x mikroC compiler.
This package is free, so don't waste time, and get it now : http://www.phyton.com/downloads/project-se.zip.
Then, don't forget to give the path to the package to the compiler : Tools-> Options -> Preferences -> Corss Tools -> External assembler & linker path.
This done, you will be able to build the mikroC examples, unless they are too big : if you have no RSC4x mC licence key, the .HEX file size is limited.
Second, you will have to install Sensory's FluentChip library : you will need it to use the advanced speech, music & voice recognition features of the chip.
You need to register but this package is also free, get it now from this form : http://www.sensoryinc.com/html/products/rsc4xtools.html#form
download the FluentChip & QuickSynthesis 4 package (25MB), and install it.
Then, don't forget to give the path to the fluentchip includes & libs to the compiler, you have to do this for each project : Tools -> Options -> Search Path, then both lib & include.
The default paths that come with the compiler are wrong, because a new version of the FluentChip library has been released since the packaging of the mE compiler.
This done, you will be able to build some short Sensory examples, the big ones will need a RSC4x mC licence key.
I'm waiting for my licence key, maybe I will be able to tell you more within the next days.
Note that the Easy VR stamp board is advertised on the Sensory web site pages.
Using the board is really easy : the on board analog system (microphone + amp + speaker) is a very good idea, you need no extra component nor extra board to make it work.
I played with all the examples that come with the compiler as .HEX files : they run fine.
I've been very impressed by the "t2simath" example in the "__Sensory_Examples" directory : you have to do simple calculations pronounced by the board (3 + 4, 9 - 2, ...) and say the result, the board will answer true, false, or will ask you to repeat. the voice recognition gives very good results, even with the voice of my 5yo daughter, or with a noisy background.
It is a little bit harder to use the compiler.
Assuming it is installed on your computer :
First, you will have to install the development package for Sensory RSC MCU (MCA-SE assembler & MCLINK linker), just follow the instruction given by the build-in help of the RSC4x mikroC compiler.
This package is free, so don't waste time, and get it now :
Then, don't forget to give the path to the package to the compiler : Tools-> Options -> Preferences -> Corss Tools -> External assembler & linker path.
This done, you will be able to build the mikroC examples, unless they are too big : if you have no RSC4x mC licence key, the .HEX file size is limited.
Second, you will have to install Sensory's FluentChip library : you will need it to use the advanced speech, music & voice recognition features of the chip.
You need to register but this package is also free, get it now from this form :
download the FluentChip & QuickSynthesis 4 package (25MB), and install it.
Then, don't forget to give the path to the fluentchip includes & libs to the compiler, you have to do this for each project : Tools -> Options -> Search Path, then both lib & include.
The default paths that come with the compiler are wrong, because a new version of the FluentChip library has been released since the packaging of the mE compiler.
This done, you will be able to build some short Sensory examples, the big ones will need a RSC4x mC licence key.
I'm waiting for my licence key, maybe I will be able to tell you more within the next days.
Note that the Easy VR stamp board is advertised on the Sensory web site pages.
Bruno G.
Thank you very much for your efforts and assistance.
When I do get a chance to resume work on the VR-Stamp, this post will be a great help. I had previously downloaded the components you referenced - just need to install them and give it a try.
Can you tell us what the cost of the "License Key" is?
I have to say a big Thanks to you too. I haven't received a reply from MikroElektronika as yet (please see my earlier post) but the information you have provided here sounds very encouraging -- I'll have time to try it out and work with it tomorrow evening and I'm excited to be able to put the VR-Stamp module through a few paces and watch it do it's stuff!
I was looking in to the VR Stamp as well to be my next project after the Stamp Audio Sensor board that I made a few months back. I think it would be nice to see Parallax purchase a bunch of these to add to their existing product line. There seems to be a strong interest in providing audio interaction of some kind,.
I recently got the VR Stamp toolkit from Sensory but the additional hardware required and the wiring and all makes one look for other options. Nevertheless, I installed the device and made all the connections on the breadboard and was able to get most of the demos and sample programs working. I also am using the MCCSE compiler from Micro Cosm. Thats what came with the Sensory VR Stamp toolkit. But I came across this new programmer toolkit from MikroE and it looks more efficient as well as economical. Am not sure if I should start to look at and develop some programs using the sensory board and compiler or just switch over to the MikroE.
Bruno, apparently u have had a very good experience with the MikroE kit. Any suggestions?
Also, does anyone know of any detailed documentation barring the small guides of MikroE C Compiler and the one for MCCSE. The fluentchip reference manual is of great help but still I haven't gone into details.
The Easy VR Stamp is a real pleasure : you can switch from a project to another in·one second, just by setting DIPs & jumpers.
You need·a memory card, a LCD, a RTC·? just connect it, you don't have to solder·anything.
It is 100% compatible with the VR Stamp Toolkit from Sensory, so that all new software examples from Sensory will work on Easy VR Stamp.
The RSC-4x mikroC compiler inherits from the IDE & libraries of the other mikroE compilers, and I'm confident with mikroE to release new versions regularly, as they do for all their compilers.
The compiler takes care of assember & linker (MCA-SE assembler & MCLINK linker), so that you don't need to learn how they work.
Note that all further compiler upgrades are free with mikroE : you pay the registration key just once, and get support for lifetime.
To me, the mikroE kit is a very valuable choice, and if you browse the Sensory home page you will see the RSC-4x mikroC compiler in top position, this is the place it deserves !
Thanks a lot for the quick response. I am also beginning to realise that EASY VR Stamp is surely an easier way to program the board and not care abt the hassles of getting all the connections and all for the external circuits.
I went through the link and its very informative. And yea I would definitely need to use the memory slot.
Am still using the VR Stamp programmer toolkit from sensory and understanding some of the sample codes in there. Am really looking forward to programming the board. Should be real fun.
I came to know abt the 4128 board from sensory and was advised by customer service professional from there to go for the VR Stamp toolkit. The conversation happened back in March and so I guess, there wasn't much info abt MikroE kit that time.
I finally ordered the VR Stamp toolkit from Sensory last month.
I had also contacted the Sensory Inc and asked them abt the choice of compiler to use with the kit they provide. Its sort of odd that they provide you the MCCSE compiler with the kit and in the documentation, they ask u not to install it ....... and download the MikroC compiler instead. That's why I began to search for other options and came to know abt this Easy VR Stamp developer from Mikro E.
Anyways, I guess it's better to switch over to the MikroE Easy Development toolkit soon.
Looking forward to more interaction with you.
Take care and hey ...... best of Luck for France in the WC finals ...... Go Zizou [noparse]:)[/noparse]
I was wondering how we could test and use the record and playback features from the VR Stamp without using any external flash memory. Isn't it possible to do it somehow from the 1MB on-chip flash?
I just found this. It's some software available for the RoboSapien. It could probably be adapted for use with Parallax products with a little bit of hacking...
Hi, I just bought VR stamp from sensory and already started a new project from the sample codes. However, I met problems when I tried to test the sample codes. I used the Sensory Loader 4 to download sample codes and connected the circuit on the breadboard. But sensory loader 4 failed to download and no response from the breadboard. Should I use sensory loader 4 to test the sample codes? why no reponse from the breadboard? Pls help me to solve the problems. thanks
When you say breadboard, do you mean the VR Stamp Toolkit board or the MikroE Easy VR Stamp board. I both cases, make sure the USB Windows driver is install properly. It sounds like you have the Sensory VR Stamp Toolkit. If so, the USB Windows driver is on the CD that came with the Toolkit. Don't know about the Easy VR Stamp USB driver.
I think someone got my post a bit confused somewhere or maybe I missread but ,Im useing the mic with the bs2 on one project for homeing in on a particular freq and mesuring echo distance.
Then on a second project my laptop is the real brains"logic" of speech and ai and im useing the bs2 in that project soley for input/output and motor control but the laptop holds/runs speech software with amp and mic built in.so all the speech in and out is software not hardware "like your heart still functions while your dreaming"and my methods are prety simple useing word shape and and wave pattern matching,
-imagine
2 Oscopes monitoring 2 different signals when both sine's match then it accepts it as pattern 1prerecorded with definition.
this method is prety simple"lame" like I said but it works, also it only matches the trainor's voice after many tries meaning you have to rerecord every word known to the machine as trainor before it will heed your command and you got to say it the same way everytime leading and ending silence cut/trimmed.
this has its pro's and cons.
1 nobody else can tell it to jump out the window.pro
2 nobody else can tell it to look out for an on comeing train.con
As to the voice recog chips my money will go to a this setup wich is basicly a record playback ic, opamp and a nand/nor set of gates and a J/K flipflopp I leave it to you to figure out how it works because it actualy was "haphazardly" designed on "circuit shop" software wich allows you to build and simulate /test circuits I just brainstormed one night and started pluging in componants and watched output on a simulated scope once all the componants where in I started moveing wire conections untill I got what I wanted.
now if you ask how did i get those ic's into circuit shop?, I found internal schematic drawings online and made my own simulated chips -wich are copywrited so i cant share them, but if i can find it you can find it to.
agian to recog chips
as far as the ones I've seen at the shack,catalog,local. they where either limited in vocabulary ,unprogramable -or in the place im currently at or just requireing way to much support circuitry to be able to develop a usefull bot on the same board.
now if you find one that requires 5componants or less support and 2-4 pin required of bs2,unlimmited vocabulary let me know by all means but where im at now if you can listen for pronunciation it will speak in that language so the sky is the limmit for vocabulary multiple languages and if I can only rewrite/resize the possible array handler for q.basic it will be possible to "universal translate",and haveing 20gigs to develop on helps the whole thing along.-wich should be possible in c++ as qb accepts c++ in librarys.
so far these are the cons
1 Im useing an limited 16bit language solvable by rewrite in 64bit or maybe the qb64 beta? dont know
2 it requires pc to run. I hear there are mac lynox/unix basics available dont know..
3 the reaction is trainor dependant-meaning it responds to me only without rerecording waves.
4 my laptop is 400mhz dell junk,donatable by me to the project at little cost.
honnestly I hope you guys reach for the brass ring on this one and document it ,I am a one man force and cant afford redeveloping previous work or going all out though I am sure I can do better to, but if I can see it done reasonably I may just turn my effort or even invest in your's untill then 'well I walk along. I wish you the best of luck and am willing to fill you in on what I found a loss wich might save you a bit of error as for me I know about 70 way's not to get speech to work and 1 good way to spend a tax rebate and fill your bins with extra parts and have nothing to show but extra parts. the good news is you can tell your ol'lady you needed those parts and she will understand .....I still dont see why she didnt ask why I needed them.....lol. enough of my rant LATER..
I think someone got my post a bit confused somewhere or maybe I missread but ,Im useing the mic with the bs2 on one project for homeing in on a particular freq and mesuring echo distance.
Then on a second project my laptop is the real brains"logic" of speech and ai and im useing the bs2 in that project soley for input/output and motor control but the laptop holds/runs speech software with amp and mic built in.so all the speech in and out is software not hardware "like your heart still functions while your dreaming"and my methods are prety simple useing word shape and and wave pattern matching,
-imagine
2 Oscopes monitoring 2 different signals when both sine's match then it accepts it as pattern 1prerecorded with definition.
this method is prety simple"lame" like I said but it works, also it only matches the trainor's voice after many tries meaning you have to rerecord every word known to the machine as trainor before it will heed your command and you got to say it the same way everytime leading and ending silence cut/trimmed.
this has its pro's and cons.
1 nobody else can tell it to jump out the window.pro
2 nobody else can tell it to look out for an on comeing train.con
As to the voice recog chips my money will go to a this setup wich is basicly a record playback ic, opamp and a nand/nor set of gates and a J/K flipflopp I leave it to you to figure out how it works because it actualy was "haphazardly" designed on "circuit shop" software wich allows you to build and simulate /test circuits I just brainstormed one night and started pluging in componants and watched output on a simulated scope once all the componants where in I started moveing wire conections untill I got what I wanted.
now if you ask how did i get those ic's into circuit shop?, I found internal schematic drawings online and made my own simulated chips -wich are copywrited so i cant share them, but if i can find it you can find it to.
agian to recog chips
as far as the ones I've seen at the shack,catalog,local. they where either limited in vocabulary ,unprogramable -or in the place im currently at or just requireing way to much support circuitry to be able to develop a usefull bot on the same board.
now if you find one that requires 5componants or less support and 2-4 pin required of bs2,unlimmited vocabulary let me know by all means but where im at now if you can listen for pronunciation it will speak in that language so the sky is the limmit for vocabulary multiple languages and if I can only rewrite/resize the possible array handler for q.basic it will be possible to "universal translate",and haveing 20gigs to develop on helps the whole thing along.-wich should be possible in c++ as qb accepts c++ in librarys.
so far these are the cons
1 Im useing an limited 16bit language solvable by rewrite in 64bit or maybe the qb64 beta? dont know
2 it requires pc to run. I hear there are mac lynox/unix basics available dont know..
3 the reaction is trainor dependant-meaning it responds to me only without rerecording waves.
4 my laptop is 400mhz dell junk,donatable by me to the project at little cost.
honnestly I hope you guys reach for the brass ring on this one and document it ,I am a one man force and cant afford redeveloping previous work or going all out though I am sure I can do better to, but if I can see it done reasonably I may just turn my effort or even invest in your's untill then 'well I walk along. I wish you the best of luck and am willing to fill you in on what I found a loss wich might save you a bit of error as for me I know about 70 way's not to get speech to work and 1 good way to spend a tax rebate and fill your bins with extra parts and have nothing to show but extra parts. the good news is you can tell your ol'lady you needed those parts and she will understand .....I still dont see why she didnt ask why I needed them.....lol. enough of my rant LATER..
I think someone got my post a bit confused somewhere or maybe I missread but ,Im useing the mic with the bs2 on one project for homeing in on a particular freq and mesuring echo distance.
Then on a second project my laptop is the real brains"logic" of speech and ai and im useing the bs2 in that project soley for input/output and motor control but the laptop holds/runs speech software with amp and mic built in.so all the speech in and out is software not hardware "like your heart still functions while your dreaming"and my methods are prety simple useing word shape and and wave pattern matching,
-imagine
2 Oscopes monitoring 2 different signals when both sine's match then it accepts it as pattern 1prerecorded with definition.
this method is prety simple"lame" like I said but it works, also it only matches the trainor's voice after many tries meaning you have to rerecord every word known to the machine as trainor before it will heed your command and you got to say it the same way everytime leading and ending silence cut/trimmed.
this has its pro's and cons.
1 nobody else can tell it to jump out the window.pro
2 nobody else can tell it to look out for an on comeing train.con
As to the voice recog chips my money will go to a this setup wich is basicly a record playback ic, opamp and a nand/nor set of gates and a J/K flipflopp I leave it to you to figure out how it works because it actualy was "haphazardly" designed on "circuit shop" software wich allows you to build and simulate /test circuits I just brainstormed one night and started pluging in componants and watched output on a simulated scope once all the componants where in I started moveing wire conections untill I got what I wanted.
now if you ask how did i get those ic's into circuit shop?, I found internal schematic drawings online and made my own simulated chips -wich are copywrited so i cant share them, but if i can find it you can find it to.
agian to recog chips
as far as the ones I've seen at the shack,catalog,local. they where either limited in vocabulary ,unprogramable -or in the place im currently at or just requireing way to much support circuitry to be able to develop a usefull bot on the same board.
now if you find one that requires 5componants or less support and 2-4 pin required of bs2,unlimmited vocabulary let me know by all means but where im at now if you can listen for pronunciation it will speak in that language so the sky is the limmit for vocabulary multiple languages and if I can only rewrite/resize the possible array handler for q.basic it will be possible to "universal translate",and haveing 20gigs to develop on helps the whole thing along.-wich should be possible in c++ as qb accepts c++ in librarys.
so far these are the cons
1 Im useing an limited 16bit language solvable by rewrite in 64bit or maybe the qb64 beta? dont know
2 it requires pc to run. I hear there are mac lynox/unix basics available dont know..
3 the reaction is trainor dependant-meaning it responds to me only without rerecording waves.
4 my laptop is 400mhz dell junk,donatable by me to the project at little cost.
honnestly I hope you guys reach for the brass ring on this one and document it ,I am a one man force and cant afford redeveloping previous work or going all out though I am sure I can do better to, but if I can see it done reasonably I may just turn my effort or even invest in your's untill then 'well I walk along. I wish you the best of luck and am willing to fill you in on what I found a loss wich might save you a bit of error as for me I know about 70 way's not to get speech to work and 1 good way to spend a tax rebate and fill your bins with extra parts and have nothing to show but extra parts. the good news is you can tell your ol'lady you needed those parts and she will understand .....I still dont see why she didnt ask why I needed them.....lol. enough of my rant LATER..
My recently purchase Asus EeePC came with speech recognition [noparse][[/noparse]English and Chinese no less].
I had thought this was going to be a hassle to teach it to accept my voice, but to my surprise it doesn't care who is talking. It just recognized pre-programed phrases [noparse][[/noparse]such as 'Computer ON'].
All the phrases start with 'Computer' and it works very well.
You might enjoy doing this more so if you use Linux and Lisp [noparse][[/noparse]which can be gotten for free in Linux].
There was work on speech synthesis with the Propeller, but you need to have large data bases which implies hard disk storage capacity for genuine text to speech. The Propeller seems to make a good phoneme synthesizer.
Listening with intelligent context is an even larger task. It is easy to say 'Computer ON', 'Computer OFF'. But one has to be very aware of the limited menu and what is does. One nice feature is that you can select which to activate and which to ignore.
I suspect commands like 'Computer OFF' can be a disaster if someone else decides to shut down your computer. Having a chance to evalute via Linux software before you buy smaller chips may help you identify the best way to organize a project.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
PLEASE CONSIDER the following:
Do you want a quickly operational black box solution or the knowledge included therein?······
···················· Tropically,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan
Comments
Gumby, I'm sorry to say that I can't even answer your question about the programming language for sure, I'm that confused at this point. I do know that you can send hex files and commands to it. The development board is made in the U.K. and the 'light' documentation that came with it is in english.
Frankly, after all my talking about the product earlier, I'm very embarrased to admit that I'm not able to tell you much of anything about it yet and I was stalling in hopes that I would get something figured out to report back to you all but, too much time was going by and I needed to lay the truth on the table.
That's the latest,
Tim
P.S. On a positive note, I did also purchase a speech synthesis V-Stamp and V-Pod(Interface board) from RC Systems that we also touched on earlier in the thread, and I'm very happy to report that those products are easy to use and fun to work with so far. I've only had those for a couple of days.
Post Edited (Tim-M) : 5/25/2006 1:57:58 PM GMT
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There is always an answer.
There is always a way.
There is always a reason.··· -SciTech02.
· O.K. Everybody, here is my latest experience and the new clues as to what's going on.· First, I noticed that in the latest issue of Nuts & Volts magazine,·MikroElektronika is running an ad for the Easy VR-Stamp Development Kit through·their new U.S. distributor and that the cost is $249 as compared to the $129 that I paid and that made me wonder.· Second, having purchased a development kit with 'Easy' in the name and not having been able to figure it out so far has been a bit frustrationg and a little embarrassing too, so I've been wondering what I've been missing here.· I decided to e-mail Sensory with the problem to see what they had to say, and thought I'd post the conversation here to pass the information along to you.
Here is what I asked:
Friday, 06/02/06
Hi Erika,
· You may recall that I contacted you six or eight weeks ago regarding your now obsolete VoiceDirect II product, and you· directed me toward your VR-Stamp module at that time.· Well, I took your advice and decided to purchase an Easy VR-Stamp Development Kit from MikroElektronika, plus an additional VR-Stamp and 2x16 LCD module, all of which I have recently received.· My current application lies in the speech recognition end of things so that is where I have focused my time with the kit so far.· To be honest though, I haven't been able to make heads or tails of, or do anything with the kit yet, except have the VR-Stamp play its' demo (music with voice-over) upon reset.· I'm wondering if I'm missing something big and obvious here, like software.· Your web site, mentions the FluentChip and FluentSoft software packages, but I don't understand if either of them is required for use with the VR-Stamp module or not.· As someone new to your products, would you have a moment to help me with a recommendation for what I may need to get going from here, or point me in the right direction of where to go for the information needed to educate myself in order to continue on to using what looks to be an exciting product of yours?· If additional software is needed, please include cost and availability information as well.
Thank you for your time and help,
Tim
And here is the reply from this morning:
Hi Tim,
I can understand your confusion!·
The MikroElektronika VR Stamp programmer board is a newer offering of theirs and until very recently, we hadn’t quite worked out the details of how to make our software available to their customers, as we typically sell it in a package with our VR Stamp programming materials.·
So – I’ve just confirmed that you can upgrade your package through MikroElektronika to include our Quick T2SI Lite software.· It will enable you to simply type in the words you want it to recognize!· Very cool and easy!
A VERY important caveat is that mikroE will only sell these to
folks that buy their kit, as an upgrade.· It is not offered to the
open market, nor is the pricing published on their public web
page.
Sensory does not plan to sell the Quick T2SI-Lite CD separately, but, like I said, you can contact mikroE for an upgrade.
I’m glad you asked – because I was curious about this too!
Thanks,
Erika
I am getting in touch with MikroElektronika and will let keep you updated.
Tim
Tim,
Thanks for the effort here. I have been totally immersed in my house remodeling project to do anything more with my VR-Stamp kit.
I have also contacted Mikroelektronika, expressing my disappointment in the product and my ability to only listen to their demo. I also told them I didn't feel it was very good business to offer an item such as this at a fantastic price - but require additional purchases to actually "use" it.
I too will post what I find and hear.
Paul
Let's compare notes when we hear back.
Ryan
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Ryan Clarke
Parallax Tech Support
RClarke@Parallax.com
· I noticed an ad in the latest Nuts & Volts for the Easy VR-Stamp Development Kit through·what looks like a new MikroElektronika distributor here in the U.S. called Circuit-Ed.com.· Intrestingly, the price of their kit, (that appears the same as what Paul and I bought)·is $249 vs the $129 that·we each·paid.· This begs the question, What's the difference?· Maybe software!··So I contacted them about these questions and this was their response:
Timothy,·
The only software that we carry for this board is the RSC-4x mikroC software.· If any other software is available for the VR Stamp board mikroElektronika has not notified us about it.· If it is available we should be able to obtain it from them.·
Most of the mE software we sell is also available as a download and you may be able to get a copy of this upgrade online, if it exists.· Since you purchased this board from the UK distributor I suggest asking them about it first.· You would likely be in their customer database and may qualify for discounts on software, if it is being offered.· You can also try contacting mikroElektronika: office@mikroe.com.·
Regards,
Warren Schroeder
CIrcuitED
· So, per the information from Erika at Sensory, I have an e-mail in directly to MikroElektronika, and I'll let everyone know what comes back just as soon as I hear anything.
Tim
this is my first post·
I received my Easy VR stamp board a few days ago.
I did not have any problem to make the programmer work, I used the USB driver from the mikroE web site :
http://www.mikroelektronika.co.yu/english/product/tools/easyvrstamp.htm
Using the board is really easy : the on board analog system (microphone + amp + speaker) is a very good idea, you·need no extra component nor extra board to make it work.
I played with all the examples that come with the compiler as .HEX files : they run fine.
I've been very impressed by the "t2simath" example in the "__Sensory_Examples" directory : you have to do simple calculations pronounced by the board (3 + 4, 9 - 2, ...) and say the result, the board will answer true, false, or will ask you to repeat. the voice recognition gives very good results, even with the voice of my 5yo daughter,·or with a noisy background.
It is a little bit harder to use the compiler.
Assuming it is installed on your computer :
First, you will have to install the development package for Sensory RSC MCU (MCA-SE assembler & MCLINK linker), just follow the instruction given by the build-in help of the RSC4x mikroC compiler.
This package is free, so don't waste time, and get it now :
http://www.phyton.com/downloads/project-se.zip.
Then, don't forget to give the path to the package to the compiler : Tools-> Options -> Preferences -> Corss Tools -> External assembler & linker path.
This done, you will be able to build the mikroC examples, unless they are too big : if you have no RSC4x mC licence key, the .HEX file size is limited.
Second, you will have to install Sensory's FluentChip library : you will need it to use the advanced speech, music & voice recognition features of the chip.
You need to register but this package is also free, get it now from this form :
http://www.sensoryinc.com/html/products/rsc4xtools.html#form
download the FluentChip & QuickSynthesis 4 package (25MB), and install it.
Then, don't forget to give the path to the fluentchip includes & libs to the compiler, you have to do this for each project : Tools -> Options -> Search Path, then both lib & include.
The default paths that come with the compiler are wrong, because a new version of the FluentChip library has been released since the packaging of the mE compiler.
This done, you will be able to build some short Sensory examples, the big ones will need a RSC4x mC licence key.
I'm waiting for my licence key, maybe I will be able to tell you more within the next days.
Note that the Easy VR stamp board is advertised on the Sensory web site pages.
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Regards,
Bruno G.
Bruno G.
Thank you very much for your efforts and assistance.
When I do get a chance to resume work on the VR-Stamp, this post will be a great help. I had previously downloaded the components you referenced - just need to install them and give it a try.
Can you tell us what the cost of the "License Key" is?
Thanks again,
Paul S.
http://www.mikroelektronika.co.yu/english/product/compilers/rsc4x_mikroc/index.htm
As the third-party tools are free, I think that there is no hidden extra-cost.
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Regards,
Bruno G.
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There is always an answer.
There is always a way.
There is always a reason.··· -SciTech02.
I have to say a big Thanks to you too. I haven't received a reply from MikroElektronika as yet (please see my earlier post) but the information you have provided here sounds very encouraging -- I'll have time to try it out and work with it tomorrow evening and I'm excited to be able to put the VR-Stamp module through a few paces and watch it do it's stuff!
Thanks again,
Tim
I have received my licence key from mikroElektronika today, it works fine : I have been able to build all the examples, no need of extra package.
Next step is to write a program of my own...
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Regards,
Bruno G.
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Mike
·
i'm also working on VR using mE C compiler. there are commands to control ports like given in the example program led_blink. there says;
cmpCtl |= 0x07;
p2ctla = 255;
p2ctlb = 255;
to set ports as inputs and outputs. i coldn't find any deocumentation in the help section of mE compiler.
can anyone give info about port controls using commnads like "cmpCtl" or the others?
thanx
I recently got the VR Stamp toolkit from Sensory but the additional hardware required and the wiring and all makes one look for other options. Nevertheless, I installed the device and made all the connections on the breadboard and was able to get most of the demos and sample programs working. I also am using the MCCSE compiler from Micro Cosm. Thats what came with the Sensory VR Stamp toolkit. But I came across this new programmer toolkit from MikroE and it looks more efficient as well as economical. Am not sure if I should start to look at and develop some programs using the sensory board and compiler or just switch over to the MikroE.
Bruno, apparently u have had a very good experience with the MikroE kit. Any suggestions?
Also, does anyone know of any detailed documentation barring the small guides of MikroE C Compiler and the one for MCCSE. The fluentchip reference manual is of great help but still I haven't gone into details.
Yawar.......
Yes I'm experimenting the mikroE Easy VR Stamp & RSC-4x mikroC compiler.
The Easy VR Stamp is a real pleasure : you can switch from a project to another in·one second, just by setting DIPs & jumpers.
You need·a memory card, a LCD, a RTC·? just connect it, you don't have to solder·anything.
It is 100% compatible with the VR Stamp Toolkit from Sensory, so that all new software examples from Sensory will work on Easy VR Stamp.
The RSC-4x mikroC compiler inherits from the IDE & libraries of the other mikroE compilers, and I'm confident with mikroE to release new versions regularly, as they do for all their compilers.
The compiler takes care of assember & linker (MCA-SE assembler & MCLINK linker), so that you don't need to learn how they work.
Note that all further compiler upgrades are free with mikroE : you pay the registration key just once, and get support for lifetime.
I don't know if a consolidated documentation to program the VR Stamp exists : I list here (bottom of page) all the manuals you have to read to program the VR Stamp (processor, compiler, libraries....)
http://www.micro-examples.com/public/microex-navig/doc/250-vr-stamp.html
To me, the mikroE kit is a very valuable choice, and if you browse the Sensory home page you will see the RSC-4x mikroC compiler in top position, this is the place it deserves !
Hope this can help,
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Regards,
Bruno G.
Thanks a lot for the quick response. I am also beginning to realise that EASY VR Stamp is surely an easier way to program the board and not care abt the hassles of getting all the connections and all for the external circuits.
I went through the link and its very informative. And yea I would definitely need to use the memory slot.
Am still using the VR Stamp programmer toolkit from sensory and understanding some of the sample codes in there. Am really looking forward to programming the board. Should be real fun.
I came to know abt the 4128 board from sensory and was advised by customer service professional from there to go for the VR Stamp toolkit. The conversation happened back in March and so I guess, there wasn't much info abt MikroE kit that time.
I finally ordered the VR Stamp toolkit from Sensory last month.
I had also contacted the Sensory Inc and asked them abt the choice of compiler to use with the kit they provide. Its sort of odd that they provide you the MCCSE compiler with the kit and in the documentation, they ask u not to install it ....... and download the MikroC compiler instead. That's why I began to search for other options and came to know abt this Easy VR Stamp developer from Mikro E.
Anyways, I guess it's better to switch over to the MikroE Easy Development toolkit soon.
Looking forward to more interaction with you.
Take care and hey ...... best of Luck for France in the WC finals ...... Go Zizou [noparse]:)[/noparse]
Yawar..........
mikroElektronika has just released V2 of RSC-4x mikroC (for new Sensory Fluentchip V2 libraries) :
http://www.mikroe.com/en/compilers/mikroc/rsc4x/download.htm
no comment
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Regards,
Bruno G.
I was wondering how we could test and use the record and playback features from the VR Stamp without using any external flash memory. Isn't it possible to do it somehow from the 1MB on-chip flash?
Yawar.....
How much, How capable basic information.
Regards,
Eric
·
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/4/prweb229552.htm
http://www.robodance.com/
A movie of the software and hardware in action.
http://www.evosapien.com/movies/voice-control-demo-hiq.mov
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Team K.I.S.S
Build Safe, Build Mean, Build Strong!
Does anyone of you here able to use the V-Stamp text to speech module from the RCSYS product?
Will you help me on this.
It may answer some questions.
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=631243
When you say breadboard, do you mean the VR Stamp Toolkit board or the MikroE Easy VR Stamp board. I both cases, make sure the USB Windows driver is install properly. It sounds like you have the Sensory VR Stamp Toolkit. If so, the USB Windows driver is on the CD that came with the Toolkit. Don't know about the Easy VR Stamp USB driver.
Then on a second project my laptop is the real brains"logic" of speech and ai and im useing the bs2 in that project soley for input/output and motor control but the laptop holds/runs speech software with amp and mic built in.so all the speech in and out is software not hardware "like your heart still functions while your dreaming"and my methods are prety simple useing word shape and and wave pattern matching,
-imagine
2 Oscopes monitoring 2 different signals when both sine's match then it accepts it as pattern 1prerecorded with definition.
this method is prety simple"lame" like I said but it works, also it only matches the trainor's voice after many tries meaning you have to rerecord every word known to the machine as trainor before it will heed your command and you got to say it the same way everytime leading and ending silence cut/trimmed.
this has its pro's and cons.
1 nobody else can tell it to jump out the window.pro
2 nobody else can tell it to look out for an on comeing train.con
As to the voice recog chips my money will go to a this setup wich is basicly a record playback ic, opamp and a nand/nor set of gates and a J/K flipflopp I leave it to you to figure out how it works because it actualy was "haphazardly" designed on "circuit shop" software wich allows you to build and simulate /test circuits I just brainstormed one night and started pluging in componants and watched output on a simulated scope once all the componants where in I started moveing wire conections untill I got what I wanted.
now if you ask how did i get those ic's into circuit shop?, I found internal schematic drawings online and made my own simulated chips -wich are copywrited so i cant share them, but if i can find it you can find it to.
agian to recog chips
as far as the ones I've seen at the shack,catalog,local. they where either limited in vocabulary ,unprogramable -or in the place im currently at or just requireing way to much support circuitry to be able to develop a usefull bot on the same board.
now if you find one that requires 5componants or less support and 2-4 pin required of bs2,unlimmited vocabulary let me know by all means but where im at now if you can listen for pronunciation it will speak in that language so the sky is the limmit for vocabulary multiple languages and if I can only rewrite/resize the possible array handler for q.basic it will be possible to "universal translate",and haveing 20gigs to develop on helps the whole thing along.-wich should be possible in c++ as qb accepts c++ in librarys.
so far these are the cons
1 Im useing an limited 16bit language solvable by rewrite in 64bit or maybe the qb64 beta? dont know
2 it requires pc to run. I hear there are mac lynox/unix basics available dont know..
3 the reaction is trainor dependant-meaning it responds to me only without rerecording waves.
4 my laptop is 400mhz dell junk,donatable by me to the project at little cost.
honnestly I hope you guys reach for the brass ring on this one and document it ,I am a one man force and cant afford redeveloping previous work or going all out though I am sure I can do better to, but if I can see it done reasonably I may just turn my effort or even invest in your's untill then 'well I walk along. I wish you the best of luck and am willing to fill you in on what I found a loss wich might save you a bit of error as for me I know about 70 way's not to get speech to work and 1 good way to spend a tax rebate and fill your bins with extra parts and have nothing to show but extra parts. the good news is you can tell your ol'lady you needed those parts and she will understand .....I still dont see why she didnt ask why I needed them.....lol. enough of my rant LATER..
Then on a second project my laptop is the real brains"logic" of speech and ai and im useing the bs2 in that project soley for input/output and motor control but the laptop holds/runs speech software with amp and mic built in.so all the speech in and out is software not hardware "like your heart still functions while your dreaming"and my methods are prety simple useing word shape and and wave pattern matching,
-imagine
2 Oscopes monitoring 2 different signals when both sine's match then it accepts it as pattern 1prerecorded with definition.
this method is prety simple"lame" like I said but it works, also it only matches the trainor's voice after many tries meaning you have to rerecord every word known to the machine as trainor before it will heed your command and you got to say it the same way everytime leading and ending silence cut/trimmed.
this has its pro's and cons.
1 nobody else can tell it to jump out the window.pro
2 nobody else can tell it to look out for an on comeing train.con
As to the voice recog chips my money will go to a this setup wich is basicly a record playback ic, opamp and a nand/nor set of gates and a J/K flipflopp I leave it to you to figure out how it works because it actualy was "haphazardly" designed on "circuit shop" software wich allows you to build and simulate /test circuits I just brainstormed one night and started pluging in componants and watched output on a simulated scope once all the componants where in I started moveing wire conections untill I got what I wanted.
now if you ask how did i get those ic's into circuit shop?, I found internal schematic drawings online and made my own simulated chips -wich are copywrited so i cant share them, but if i can find it you can find it to.
agian to recog chips
as far as the ones I've seen at the shack,catalog,local. they where either limited in vocabulary ,unprogramable -or in the place im currently at or just requireing way to much support circuitry to be able to develop a usefull bot on the same board.
now if you find one that requires 5componants or less support and 2-4 pin required of bs2,unlimmited vocabulary let me know by all means but where im at now if you can listen for pronunciation it will speak in that language so the sky is the limmit for vocabulary multiple languages and if I can only rewrite/resize the possible array handler for q.basic it will be possible to "universal translate",and haveing 20gigs to develop on helps the whole thing along.-wich should be possible in c++ as qb accepts c++ in librarys.
so far these are the cons
1 Im useing an limited 16bit language solvable by rewrite in 64bit or maybe the qb64 beta? dont know
2 it requires pc to run. I hear there are mac lynox/unix basics available dont know..
3 the reaction is trainor dependant-meaning it responds to me only without rerecording waves.
4 my laptop is 400mhz dell junk,donatable by me to the project at little cost.
honnestly I hope you guys reach for the brass ring on this one and document it ,I am a one man force and cant afford redeveloping previous work or going all out though I am sure I can do better to, but if I can see it done reasonably I may just turn my effort or even invest in your's untill then 'well I walk along. I wish you the best of luck and am willing to fill you in on what I found a loss wich might save you a bit of error as for me I know about 70 way's not to get speech to work and 1 good way to spend a tax rebate and fill your bins with extra parts and have nothing to show but extra parts. the good news is you can tell your ol'lady you needed those parts and she will understand .....I still dont see why she didnt ask why I needed them.....lol. enough of my rant LATER..
Then on a second project my laptop is the real brains"logic" of speech and ai and im useing the bs2 in that project soley for input/output and motor control but the laptop holds/runs speech software with amp and mic built in.so all the speech in and out is software not hardware "like your heart still functions while your dreaming"and my methods are prety simple useing word shape and and wave pattern matching,
-imagine
2 Oscopes monitoring 2 different signals when both sine's match then it accepts it as pattern 1prerecorded with definition.
this method is prety simple"lame" like I said but it works, also it only matches the trainor's voice after many tries meaning you have to rerecord every word known to the machine as trainor before it will heed your command and you got to say it the same way everytime leading and ending silence cut/trimmed.
this has its pro's and cons.
1 nobody else can tell it to jump out the window.pro
2 nobody else can tell it to look out for an on comeing train.con
As to the voice recog chips my money will go to a this setup wich is basicly a record playback ic, opamp and a nand/nor set of gates and a J/K flipflopp I leave it to you to figure out how it works because it actualy was "haphazardly" designed on "circuit shop" software wich allows you to build and simulate /test circuits I just brainstormed one night and started pluging in componants and watched output on a simulated scope once all the componants where in I started moveing wire conections untill I got what I wanted.
now if you ask how did i get those ic's into circuit shop?, I found internal schematic drawings online and made my own simulated chips -wich are copywrited so i cant share them, but if i can find it you can find it to.
agian to recog chips
as far as the ones I've seen at the shack,catalog,local. they where either limited in vocabulary ,unprogramable -or in the place im currently at or just requireing way to much support circuitry to be able to develop a usefull bot on the same board.
now if you find one that requires 5componants or less support and 2-4 pin required of bs2,unlimmited vocabulary let me know by all means but where im at now if you can listen for pronunciation it will speak in that language so the sky is the limmit for vocabulary multiple languages and if I can only rewrite/resize the possible array handler for q.basic it will be possible to "universal translate",and haveing 20gigs to develop on helps the whole thing along.-wich should be possible in c++ as qb accepts c++ in librarys.
so far these are the cons
1 Im useing an limited 16bit language solvable by rewrite in 64bit or maybe the qb64 beta? dont know
2 it requires pc to run. I hear there are mac lynox/unix basics available dont know..
3 the reaction is trainor dependant-meaning it responds to me only without rerecording waves.
4 my laptop is 400mhz dell junk,donatable by me to the project at little cost.
honnestly I hope you guys reach for the brass ring on this one and document it ,I am a one man force and cant afford redeveloping previous work or going all out though I am sure I can do better to, but if I can see it done reasonably I may just turn my effort or even invest in your's untill then 'well I walk along. I wish you the best of luck and am willing to fill you in on what I found a loss wich might save you a bit of error as for me I know about 70 way's not to get speech to work and 1 good way to spend a tax rebate and fill your bins with extra parts and have nothing to show but extra parts. the good news is you can tell your ol'lady you needed those parts and she will understand .....I still dont see why she didnt ask why I needed them.....lol. enough of my rant LATER..
I had thought this was going to be a hassle to teach it to accept my voice, but to my surprise it doesn't care who is talking. It just recognized pre-programed phrases [noparse][[/noparse]such as 'Computer ON'].
All the phrases start with 'Computer' and it works very well.
You might enjoy doing this more so if you use Linux and Lisp [noparse][[/noparse]which can be gotten for free in Linux].
There was work on speech synthesis with the Propeller, but you need to have large data bases which implies hard disk storage capacity for genuine text to speech. The Propeller seems to make a good phoneme synthesizer.
Listening with intelligent context is an even larger task. It is easy to say 'Computer ON', 'Computer OFF'. But one has to be very aware of the limited menu and what is does. One nice feature is that you can select which to activate and which to ignore.
I suspect commands like 'Computer OFF' can be a disaster if someone else decides to shut down your computer. Having a chance to evalute via Linux software before you buy smaller chips may help you identify the best way to organize a project.
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PLEASE CONSIDER the following:
Do you want a quickly operational black box solution or the knowledge included therein?······
Post Edited (Kramer) : 7/4/2008 1:49:29 PM GMT