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You can either use the Kill button on the Launcher, or hit the Q key on your keyboard, while in the Ogre window.
Text To Speech
How do I change the voice of a character?
The voice ID of a character is defined in the SmartBody sequence file. For the Brad character this is 'BradVoice', as defined in \data\sbm-toolkit\scripts\init-toolkit-characters-Gamebryo.seq:
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set character brad voice remote BradVoice |
This line tells SmartBody that it should send a request to a TTS engine for any speech (as opposed to using prerecorded speech), and that the voice ID to be used in that request is 'BradVoice'.
There usually is a distinction between the actual TTS engine, and a small relay program that sits in between SmartBody and the TTS engine. By default, the toolkit uses the MSSpeechRelay module for that. MSSpeechRelay offers the functionality of mapping the requested voice ID to an internal voice ID. In the case of the Brad character, it maps the generic 'BradVoice' to the actual Windows voice 'Microsoft Mike', as defined in \tools\launch-scripts\run-toolkit-tts.bat:
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start msspeechrelay -m BradVoice "Microsoft Mike" |
By default, MSSpeechRelay will try to use the defined voice, but it will fall back to the Windows default voice if the former can not be found.
If you want to change the voice, you can map 'BradVoice' to a different, already installed voice in 'run-toolkit-tts.bat'. Alternatively, you can map the voice to an unknown voice with the result that the default Windows voice will be used. You can change the default Windows voice by going to the Windows Control Panel (click Start) and selecting Speech. In the Text To Speech tab, select a voice. You can only select voices that you have installed.
See the components section for an overview of voices that are compatible with the toolkit.
Speech Recognition / Text Input
How can I talk to my character?
You can push the Start button on the first tab. This will bring the user to the Recorder tab and will start a new session, in which all speech input will be saved on disk. The toolkit only comes with PocketSphinx, which has not been optimized yet for use with the toolkit.
Where can I type in my input for the character?
The AcquireSpeech client starts on the first tab in which you can modify some of the default settings. The Recorder and Player tabs allow users to type in their utterances. The Player tab also loads a script with some example questions which can be used by double clicking on it.
What is pocketsphinx-sonic-server?
The pocketsphinx-sonic-server is a wrapper over the pocketsphinx speech recognition system which allows us to communicate with it using the sonic protocol.
Where can I find pocketsphinx-sonic-server on svn?
http://svn.ict.usc.edu/svn_vh/trunk/core/pocketsphinx-sonic-server/
Launcher
How can I bring up console / debug information?
In the Advanced menu, click Show Console option (CTRL + T).
How can I disable the periodic component status pinging / vrAllCall messages?
In the Advanced menu, disable Enable vrAllCall (CTRL + SHIFT + T).
How do I save changes to a certain profile?
Unsaved changes are automatically saved to a Last Known Config profile, which will be loaded by default on start up. If you want to save changes under a specific name, for instance to save several often used configurations, you can do that in the Profiles menu, Save As New Profile (CTRL + SHIFT + S). This will bring up a new window in which you can enter your profile name.
How do I switch between Build and SVN mode for a certain component?
If supported, right click on any component name and select the appropriate Switch To option. Note that this feature assumes a symmetrical installation of both a build version and a SVN (version control) version of your project. This is currently not supported by the toolkit.
Logger
Where did the Logger go?
The Logger window is minimized on start-up. On the task bar, you can usually find it next to the Launcher.
Why do new messages periodically appear, even when I'm not interacting with a character?
By default, the Launcher sends out status request messages to all modules and tools (vrAllCall). These then respond with a confirmation message, indicating they are online. This enables the Launcher to show which components are still online. You can turn this behavior off in the Advanced menu of the Launcher (Enable vrAllCall option). Note that the Launcher will then not correctly indicate component status anymore. For more information on this particular message protocol, see Messages.
VHMSG
Troubleshooting
The Launcher does not start
It might be that the executable used to start the Launcher can not be found. Please make sure that javaw.exe is part of your path. The location is usually "C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_10\bin" or "C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.6.0_10\bin". The path is defined in your Environment Variables; right-click on My Computer, go to the Advanced tab and click Environment Variables.
Known Problems
- Although Windows 7 is supported, due to non-backwards compatibility of the Microsoft SAPI interface in Windows 7, lip synching is likely off.
Website / Wiki
How to Use Media Wiki
- Consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.
- Configuration settings list
- MediaWiki FAQ
- MediaWiki release mailing list
Which terminology to use
The toolkit should be referred to as either 'Virtual Human Toolkit' or 'toolkit'. Please do not use 'VH toolkit', 'Virtual Humans Toolkit' (notice the plural humans), 'vhtoolkit' or 'VHT'. If you want to use some abbreviation, just use 'toolkit'. 'vhtoolkit' is exclusively used as an abbreviation in code, URL's, email addresses, etc., not in documentation. For more terms see the Glossary below.
Speech Recognition / Text Input
How can I talk to my character?
You can push the Start button on the first tab. This will bring the user to the Recorder tab and will start a new session, in which all speech input will be saved on disk. The toolkit only comes with PocketSphinx, which has not been optimized yet for use with the toolkit.
Where can I type in my input for the character?
The AcquireSpeech client starts on the first tab in which you can modify some of the default settings. The Recorder and Player tabs allow users to type in their utterances. The Player tab also loads a script with some example questions which can be used by double clicking on it.
What is pocketsphinx-sonic-server?
The pocketsphinx-sonic-server is a wrapper over the pocketsphinx speech recognition system which allows us to communicate with it using the sonic protocol.
Launcher
How can I bring up console / debug information?
In the Advanced menu, click Show Console option (CTRL + T).
How can I disable the periodic component status pinging / vrAllCall messages?
In the Advanced menu, disable Enable vrAllCall (CTRL + SHIFT + T).
How do I save changes to a certain profile?
Unsaved changes are automatically saved to a Last Known Config profile, which will be loaded by default on start up. If you want to save changes under a specific name, for instance to save several often used configurations, you can do that in the Profiles menu, Save As New Profile (CTRL + SHIFT + S). This will bring up a new window in which you can enter your profile name.
How do I switch between Build and SVN mode for a certain component?
If supported, right click on any component name and select the appropriate Switch To option. Note that this feature assumes a symmetrical installation of both a build version and a SVN (version control) version of your project. This is currently not supported by the toolkit.
Logger
Where did the Logger go?
The Logger window is minimized on start-up. On the task bar, you can usually find it next to the Launcher.
Why do new messages periodically appear, even when I'm not interacting with a character?
By default, the Launcher sends out status request messages to all modules and tools (vrAllCall). These then respond with a confirmation message, indicating they are online. This enables the Launcher to show which components are still online. You can turn this behavior off in the Advanced menu of the Launcher (Enable vrAllCall option). Note that the Launcher will then not correctly indicate component status anymore. For more information on this particular message protocol, see Messages.
VHMSG
Troubleshooting
The Launcher does not start
Make sure you have installed all required 3rd party software; these are included with the appropriate installers. It might be that the executable used to start the Launcher can not be found. Please make sure that javaw.exe is part of your path. The location is usually "C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_10\bin" or "C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.6.0_10\bin". The path is defined in your Environment Variables; right-click on My Computer, go to the Advanced tab and click Environment Variables.
None of the modules start
Make sure you have installed all required 3rd party software; these are included with the appropriate installers. Click 'Advanced' in the Launcher and see if all the checked rows are green. If all of them are orange, make sure ActiveMQ is running; right-click on Computer in the start menu, select Manage, expand Services and Applications, click on Services and see if the ActiveMQ service is running. If it is listed and not running, select it and click the Play icon above or right click and select Start. If it is not listed, use the Toolkit installer with 3rd party software and make sure the ActiveMQ box is selected. If some Launcher rows are green and others are orange, try launching the orange ones manually and note any errors. You can bring up the Launcher command console with 'CTRL + T'.
Characters come up but don't respond
Expand the Launcher view (click 'Advanced') and see which checked rows are green. If some are orange, try launching them manually. If that fails, bring up the command console with 'CTRL + T' for any error messages that may help point you in the right direction.
If all else fails
Look at the Support page for an overview of available support.
Known Problems
Glossary
ActiveMQ
General purpose open source messaging system, used by the Toolkit components. See documentation. Technical basis of VHMsg standard.
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A Toolkit component that allows users and developers supportive functions.
Toolkit
See FAQ#Virtual Virtual Human Toolkit.
TTS
TtsRelay
TtsRelay is a Toolkit module that interfaces to a variety of text-to-speech engines, including Festival and MS SAPI.
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An acronym for virtual humans, often used to refer to the ICT Virtual Humans group.
VHToolkit
See FAQ#Virtual Virtual Human Toolkit.
Virtual Human Toolkit
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