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Issue #207 October 2007
Embedded Speech
Speech Synthesis for Small Applications
by Nicusor Birsan & Ionut Tarsa
It’s time to try your hand at an embedded speech application. In this article, Nicusor and Ionut introduce you to speech synthesis technology and describe how to bring audio capabilities to small embedded applications.
Start | Embedding Speech | Speech Synthesis Techniques | Open-Source Project | System Building Blocks | Sound From Luminary Micro | First Big Porting Problem | Synthesizer | Translator | The LM3S811 Speaks | More Speech Applications | Sources & PDF
Writing code for an embedded application is simple: all you need are an appropriate compiler and linker. But why are a lot of software engineers moving away from it? While some engineers still consider easy-to-develop code for small processors, many realize that designing complex embedded applications on Pentiums or geode-based PC104+ boards is not that easy. In fact, both (tasks) are the same, because rapid, risk-free development requires knowledge of the application domain, hardware/software codevelopment, and a consideration of safety concerns. Still, like any other job done with passion, embedded development has its great moments, which are not as rare as you may think.
In this article, we’ll cover the topic of embedded speech synthesis. In particular, we’ll explain how to develop the “software only” portion of an embedded application, which, at first sight, doesn’t require too much additional knowledge or skills. There are a lot of freely downloadable text-to-speech (TTS) solutions on the Internet. Many of them work well, but we complicated the requirements a little. We wanted our TTS system to fit into a small microcontroller without additional hardware, which would have meant higher costs.
As you read this article, keep in mind that embedded software development is an art form. At the same time, you must be aware of what is happening in the marketplace. Remember that although 8-bit microcontrollers are still in use, new powerful 32-bit chips with the same amount of memory are starting to take their place at the same price.
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