Speech

The speech tab has 2 components, specifically the Say and Quick Reponses pages. Tap either of the options at the top of the page to show their components.

By default, the tab Say will be selected.

speech overview

Tap the 'Say' section to:

  • Make the device say something

  • Repeat an earlier message

  • Store or delete earlier messages

Tap the 'Quick Responses' section to:

  • Store a collection of messages

  • Edit the Quick responses

  • Delete the Quick Responses

The Quick Responses created in the steering page will be shown in the dashboard widget as well.

Chat

The chat widget can be used to make the device say some text or to make the device respond to a command.

Overview

  1. A list of the history of sent messages(1).

  2. Text and speech options for the new message or command

(1): Commands will not be saved in the chat history.

Overview

It is highly recommended to set the options for the message before entering the message itself.

The bar at the bottom displays the options for the message:

MessageDetails

  1. Tap the icon to use the speech service on the tablet/smartphone to enter the message(1)

  2. Set the language of the message

  3. Select a voice (2) for the device to say the message

  4. Tap the icon to show or hide the options for the message (e.g. volume, speech speed, …​)

  5. Edit the message or command to send to the device

  6. Tap the icon sendspeech or sendcommand to select whether to send a message or a command (3)

  7. Tap the icon to view and edit the advanced options (e.g. Animated speech)

After creating the message with the required settings, tap the icon to send the message or command to the device.

(1): Requires Google Assistant to be installed on Android devices
(2): Multiple voices need to be installed for the selected language on the device
(3): The icon will change based on the type of message to be sent (i.e. if the icon sendspeech is shown, a speech message will be sent, if the icon sendcommand is shown, a command will be sent)

Using the installed speech service

Save this step for last. Set the other options for the message first, especially the language.

Tap the icon to open an overlay of the voice recognition app:

TapMicrophone

When the modal is shown, state the message for the device to repeat or the voice command for the device to execute:

GoogleSpeechDialogModal

Once the text has been processed by the speech service, the transcribed content will be entered in the message field:

MessageEntered

Tap the icon to send the message/command to the device.

The speech recognition will use the selected language for the message to interpret the speech. Additionally, make sure the requirements for the speech recognition app are met (i.e. access to internet, access to microphone, …​).

  • The example listed uses the Google Assistant voice service. On iOS devices, the layout may be slightly different.

  • The speech recognition app needs to be installed on the smartphone/tablet for the same user as the one using ZBOS Control.

Set the language for the message

Tap the language field in the message bar to display the language installed on the device:

TapLanguage

Tap the language for the message and tap the option 'Accept' to apply the changes:

LanguageOptions
At least one voice needs to be selected for the language to be shown in the list.

Set the voice for the message

Tap the voice option next to the language field to display a list of the available voices installed on the connected device:

TapVoicesOptions

Tap the voice to be used in the modal and tap the button 'OK' to select the specific voice to be used:

VoiceOptionsModal
This option will only be shown if more than one voice for the selected language is installed.

Setting the options for the speech

Tap the icon to display the options for the message:

TapSpeechOptions

Drag the slider(s) for a setting(1) to change the value and tap the icon (2) again to close the options:

OutputSettings

  • Changing the volume for a message will change the overall volume set on the device.

  • Only the options compatible with the currently connected device will be shown.

  • Changing the options for speech speed and voice-pitch will be applied for every new sent message.

Entering the content of the message

It is highly recommended to set the type of message to send to the device beforehand (i.e. message or command).

Tap the selected message-field at the bottom of the screen to enter a message or command into the text-field.

TapMessage

Enter the message or command to send to the device:

EnteringMessage

Tap the (now available) icon to send the message/command to the device.

  • This will change the option for setting the type of message (sendspeech or sendcommand) to sending a message ( md send )

  • Tap the icon times in the selected message-field to remove the message from the text-field.

Alternatively, a speech-to-text service can be used to enter the content of the message. See the chapter Using the speech service for more information.

Changing the type of message

These options will only be shown if the message-field is empty.

Tap the option sendspeech (or sendcommand) to display the available message-types:

TapMessageType

Select the action for the device to take and tap the option 'Accept' to apply the changes.

TapMessageTypeModal

This will change the icon in the message-bar to match the type of message sent to the device.

Type Icon shown Explanation

Say
sendspeech

The device will state the entered message using the entered speech-options

Execute
sendcommand

The device will interpret the sent message as a voice-command

Execution options

Tap the button to display a list of available animations the device can show.

Animated speech

Animated speech will only be executed if the connected device supports this option.

Another option to animate the device while speaking is to enable (or disable) the option 'Animated speech'.

AnimatedSpeech

Tap the option 'Animated speech' to enable or disable this option.

Tap outside the shown popup to close the modal.

Sending the message to the device

After entering the message to send (either using the keyboard or using the speech-service installed on the device), the icon will be shown.

Tap the icon to send the message or command to the device.

TapSend

The sent message will now be stored in the history.

History of messages

A history of the sent messages (not commands) is available:

ChatHistoryOverview

  1. Tap the message to have the device repeat the message

  2. Tap the icon to edit the message

  3. Tap the button to display the options for the message

  4. Tap the button to hide the options for the message

  5. Tap the button to store the message as a quick response

  6. Tap the button to delete the message from the history

Editing a message

Tap the title of the message to edit it:

MessageEditing

Enter the new content for the message in the screen and tap outside the modal to stop editing.

Send an earlier message to the device

Tap a message in the history to send it to the device again.

RepeatMessage

The device will then play it back using the set speech properties (voice pitch, volume, …​).

Storing a message as a Quick response

Tap the button (1) to show the message options(2).

OpenMessageOptions

Tap the button to save the message as a Quick Response. For more information on the quick response(s), see the chapter Editing the quick response. The details for the message will be entered automatically, and the category 'Default' will be selected by default.

Tap the button 'Save Quick response' to store the message.

SaveMessage

Tap the button (1) to close the message options.

(1): Alternatively, swiping left or right can also be used to show or hide the options for the message.
(2): Only one message can show the options at a time

Delete the message

Tap the button (1) to show the message options(2).

OpenMessageOptions

Tap the button to delete the message from the history:

DeleteMessage

Tap the button (1) to close the message options.

(1): Alternatively, swiping left or right can also be used to show or hide the options for the message.
(2): Only one message can show the options at a time

List of Quick Responses

In this component, the user can play or modify the quick responses that the smart device will say.

ListDetails Steering

  1. Filter the list of responses

  2. Sort the list of responses

  3. Details of the response

  4. Add new response

Filtering the list of responses

The list can be filtered by entering a search-term in the list or applying a filter to the list.

SearchTerm

  • Entering a search-term in the field

Enter a search-term in the field (1) to search the list for Quick Responses with the search-term in the name of the Quick Response.

To remove the search-term, tap the icon (2) in the right of the search-field or erase the current searched term.

The icon will only be shown when editing the search-field.

  • Filter by category or language

Tap the icon md funnel (3) to display the filter-options for the list:

TapFilter

A modal will be shown with the available options for the filter:

FilterOptions

The list can be filtered to show or hide categories(1) or languages(2).

Tap one of the options in the list to toggle the display of the category or tap the button 'Unselect all' to toggle all selected options in the selected section off.

Tap the icon in the top-right of the modal to apply the changes to the list.

  • The languages shown in the list depend on the connected device.

  • The option 'Unselect all' will only be shown once all options in a section are checked. Otherwise, the option 'Select all' will be shown.

Sort the list of quick responses

Tap one the shown properties of the quick response (name, language, favorite, recent) to sort the list in ascending or descending order.

SortResponses
The sorting will be applied on top of the active search or filter.

Quick response

For each quick responses, the following operations are available:

QuickResponseDetails

  1. Mark or unmark a response as favorite

  2. Play the selected quick response on the device

  3. Edit the quick response

  4. Delete the quick response

Marking a Quick Response as a favorite

Tap the next to a Quick Response to (un-)mark them as favorites.

TapStar
md star shows the response is marked as favorite, whereas md star outline shows the response isn’t a favorite.

Play the quick response on the smart device

Tap anywhere in the indicated area (close to the name of the quick response) to play the quick response.

TapResponse

Editing the quick response

Tap the md edit icon to edit the quick response.

TapEdit

This will open a modal with the information of the quick response:

EditModal

  1. The current category for the response

  2. The current name for the response

  3. The current language for the response

  4. The current content for the response

  5. The current speech-options

  6. Save-button

Editing the category

The category-section contains the following elements:

CategorySection

  1. Select a category

  2. Create a new category

  3. Edit the current category

  4. Delete the current category

The Edit- and Delete-buttons will be disabled for the Default category.
Selecting a category

Tap the field next to the category to show a list of available categories.

TapCategory

Tap a category from the list and tap the button 'OK' to select the new category.

CategorySelect
Create a new category

Tap the button Add new category to open a modal asking for the name of the category.

TapAddCategory

Enter a valid name for the category (1) and tap the Save button (2) to add the new category.

AddCategory
The new category will automatically be selected.
Editing a category
The edit-button will be disabled for the currently selected category.

Tap the edit-button to open the settings for the category.

TapEditCategory

Enter a new name for the category (1) and tap the option 'Save' to change the name of the category.

EditCategory
Delete a category
This will also remove all quick responses belonging to the category.
The delete-button will be disabled for the currently selected category.

Tap the delete-button next to the category to remove the category.

TapDeleteCategory

This will show a modal asking to confirm the deletion of the category.

ConfirmDeleteCategory

Tap the Yes-button to remove the category and its quick responses.

Setting the name of the response

Tap the name of the response to edit the name of the response.

TapName

Enter a new name for the response and tap outside the name-field to apply the change.

Setting the language
ZBOS Control needs to be connected to a device before a language can be selected.

Tap the language-selection to display a list of the languages installed on the device.

TapLanguage

Select the new language in the modal (1) and tap the button OK to set the new language for the quick response.

EditLanguage
The current speech-language will automatically be selected when adding a new quick response.
Setting the content
The content for the quick response will not be displayed in the list, only the name.

Tap the content-section to set the content for the quick response.

TapContent

Tap outside the content-modal to save the changes.

Setting the options for the speech

Tap the field 'Options' to display or hide the speech-options for the quick response.

TapOptions

Drag any of the sliders to a new value to change the options for the speech options.

EditSpeechSettings

  1. Volume (from 0-100)

  2. Speech speed (from 50-200)

  3. Voice pitch (from 50-200)

The list of available options depends on the connected device.
Save the changes

Tap the button 'Save Quick Response' to save the changes for the quick response.

TapSave

Delete a quick response

Tap the icon md trash next to a quick response to delete the quick response.

TapDelete

Tap the option 'OK' in the confirmation-modal to permanently delete the quick response.

ConfirmDelete

Add a new quick response

Tap the button at the bottom of the quick response-pane to add a new quick response to the list.

AddNewResponse

Enter the necessary information for the quick response in the popup. See Editing the quick response for more information on available settings.

The settings for the language and speech-options will be filled in with the current settings on the device.