Hello-Lucy

Mykle1

What I do remember about using voice with a usb microphone on the Pi is not the latency. It was more the limitation of voice module only allowing me to do certain things. I wanted to be able to completely control my mirror by voice. It took me a year to self-learn enough about coding to attempt Hello-Lucy.

I don’t think the latency bothered me on the Pi but it really bothered me as I was developing Hello-Lucy on a Core i7 Quad core with a USB microphone. I couldn’t understand why a 12 year old laptop with an integrated microphone performed better, until I made the realization. A $6, 3.5mm microphone made all the difference in the world. Unfortunately for Pi users. a USB microphone is your only option.

I feel compelled to say that I love the Pi. It is the reason I’ve become so involved with MM and programming, but I am realistic in my expectations of what it can do.

AxLed

@Damian
I have some (maybe helpful) informations about the use of microphones on RPI.
I tested this on RPI3.

I checked the difference beetween the following microphones (i had at home anyway):

USB Mic from Wii (Logitech)
USB Mic from Playstation 2 (orignal Singstar with that USB adapter inbetween)
USB Soundcard (USB-Audio C-Media) with 2x 3.5mm jack for microphone and speaker

Then i tried recording and playing that record to find out about the quality.
I used commands like this:
Record:

arecord /home/pi/Desktop/test_wii_mic.wav -D sysdefault:CARD=1

Play:

omxplayer -p -o hdmi /home/pi/Desktop/test_wii_mic.wav

No. 1 and 2 were terrible (it was even for a human hard to understand what words i recorded), No. 3 was very good. So my thought were to use No. 3 for different MMM-voice projects.

I hope this helps.

AxLED

Damian

Thanks very much @Mykle1. I share your sentiments about the Pi. :-(
My house mirror is made such that the Pi has to be used. But with a little bit of jiggery-pokery I,m sure I can work on a really long HDMI to a hidden PC, and use a 3.5 Mic ;-)

I’ve been abroad working for a while and only just catching up on what is new on here… and really loving the idea of your Lucy. This would, for me, be the jewel in the crown :-)

So heartfelt thanks for your efforts on this, and I shall look forward to using this with utmost pleasure. :-)

Damian

@AxLed

Thanks… I just may get one of these to at least give it a try… How would you rate the performance of this, to that of using the 3.5 on a pc?

This would obviously be a much cheaper option, but only if the performance is really great compared to just the usb mic.

But as @Mykle1 noted, the Lucy graphics works best on a PC, but has given a Pi alternative, so will have a look at the two - on a Pi, and PC, and see which one suits best.

If the Pi version looks/works in a similar way to the PC version, and your suggested USB mic works great, then this may be the way to go?

Thanks.

Mykle1

@Damian

Cool. Be sure to keep me posted. I’d also like to see some video of Hello-Lucy working on your setup when the time comes. :-)

Damian

@Mykle1

Can I ask a question or two about the microphone?
I’m looking at a couple of small ones, obviously not wanting the long ones that sit on a desktop as I want to be able to at least conceal this out of direct sight as much as possible, without muffling it of course.

I had my eye on the “clip on type” because its small and has no long stem like desktop ones have, but here’s the thing - unless a reviewer specifically states distance from mic to mouth, there does not seem to be a way of telling how much a distance range these work at? How close do you really need to be to the MM/Mic in order for voice to be picked up?

I have, in the past, used the cheap desktop types, and the user, on average, is about 7 to 12 inches away from it so it picks up a clear voice that can be understood on recording and voip ect… but, is this the same clarity that Lucy needs for her commands?

When looking at descriptions of models, there are the Mono and Stereo types… and a whole plethora of other specs that are way over my head, and prices to match :-)

I don’t mind paying £8 - £10 for one that will only ever be used when communicating with Lucy, if it will pick up voice from at least 1M, that she will respond to, as I do not want to have to have my face pressed right up close to it before it will hear me, which is not very smart :-(

Did you do any digging/research on my points above before you settled for the one you used, or, if it is just a basic desktop one you have, are you happy enough with how far it can pick up commands?

Thanks

Long stem -

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/wired-pc-microphone-hw70m

Side mount -

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/mini-compact-wired-pc-microphone-a84cg

Double mic -

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-Stereo-Microphone-Mic-Audio-For-Laptop-iPhone-Andriod-Phone-Talk-3-5mm-Ox/282781824166?hash=item41d71c34a6:m:m9w_HHBUEKrgcYWZ7Usn1eA

Clip on -

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-3-5mm-Hands-Free-Clip-on-Mini-Lapel-Microphone-For-Laptop-Computer-PC-UK/253113578448?hash=item3aeebeb3d0:g:7R0AAOSw53NY9sXH

Mykle1

@Damian

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07673TQCB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the microphone that I have. I bought it because it was $7.99US at the time and I wanted it only to test my theory about USB latency. It works exceptionally well. I just tested it with Hello-Lucy from a distance of 50 inches. I did have to raise my voice a bit and I did have to repeat myself once or twice. I don’t really expect it work as well as a far field microphone, such as Amazon Echo, but I am satisfied with the results.

maxbachmann

Damn I need this aswell
guess I will keep it in english because I am probably to lazy to train snowboy again for German :)

Damian

@Mykle1

Thanks, I did get confused for a second by thinking Omnidirectional was similar to far field, so will continue my search for one that will be far field - of sorts… although I feel those will cost a bit more? But, 50 inches (Max) does seem pretty damn good, as I was more concerned that I would need to be about 12 - 20 inches max, with slight raised voice, as a lot of these type are used within that distance, so they are not really catering for distance, and for the likes of MM and Lucy, needs to be a bit farther eh?

Thanks anyway for that info, as it has gave me a great head start on what to filter my search by.

pepebc

I was looking for a good microphone and, after seeing this comparison: https://medium.com/snips-ai/benchmarking-microphone-arrays-respeaker-conexant-microsemi-acuedge-matrix-creator-minidsp-950de8876fda
I decided to buy 2 PS3 eye. 4 microphone array system.
I manage MagicMirror perfectly from 100 inch. Very interesting price 6 $ each. And the webcam 120 fps!