Main Content

eSpeak Text to Speech

Convert text into speech on default audio device

expand all in page

Add-On Required: This feature requires the Simulink Support Package for Raspberry Pi Hardware add-on.

  • eSpeak Text to Speech block icon

Libraries:
Simulink Support Package for Raspberry Pi Hardware / Audio and Video

Description

Use the eSpeak Text to Speech block to convert text into speech using the eSpeak speech synthesizer. The block outputs the synthesized speech through the default audio device connected to your Raspberry Pi® board.

If you simulate a model on your host computer that contains an eSpeak Text to Speech block without running it on your Raspberry Pi board, the block produces zeros (or no output). For more information, see Block Produces Zeros or Does Nothing in Simulation. You must use this block in external mode (Monitor & Tune) or deploy the model on your Raspberry Pi board to listen to the output of the speech synthesizer.

When you run a model in external mode that contains the block, the block automatically launches a background process that converts the input text to its corresponding ASCII values. Once the conversion is over, the block is ready to convert another array of input text. If the input text overlaps the text currently being converted, the block launches multiple background processes that run concurrently. Although the Linux® sound driver mixes the sound from those processes, the resulting output is unsatisfactory. Running too many processes concurrently produces errors.

Ports

Input

expand all

The block accepts an array that is converted into its ASCII equivalent in the format: uint8('character vector'). For example, you can send uint8('Hello world') or uint8('1 2 3') to the input port of the block. However, if you send [1 2 3] to the input, the block does nothing.

Data Types: uint8

Version History

Introduced in R2013a

See Also

Topics