Talk Time - Android Speech to Text (English)

Hello Buddies.

Why not try something related to Android this time?

Like we always quote, a small piece of intro code can boost up your confidence and make you familiar with technology you want to take head on.

A basic program using “Android Studio”, “Speech API” and your “Android Handset” can provide you with a cool app, you can boast around with, and capture voice to try convert it into text.

The steps are very limited and simple –

1.      Create a new project in Android Studio.

2.       Use your weapon – JAVA to write down a class MainActivity.java

package com.example.myfirstapp;

import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Locale;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.ActivityNotFoundException;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.speech.RecognizerIntent;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.ImageButton;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {
    private final int SPEECH_RECOGNITION_CODE = 1;
    private TextView txtOutput;
    private ImageButton btnMicrophone;
    private ImageButton btnMicrophone2;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        txtOutput = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.txt_output);
        btnMicrophone = (ImageButton) findViewById(R.id.btn_mic);
        btnMicrophone.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                startSpeechToText();
            }
        });
    }
    private void startSpeechToText() {
        Intent intent = new Intent(RecognizerIntent.ACTION_RECOGNIZE_SPEECH);
        intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_LANGUAGE, Locale.getDefault());
        intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_LANGUAGE_MODEL, RecognizerIntent.LANGUAGE_MODEL_FREE_FORM);
        intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_PROMPT, "Speak something...");
        try {
            startActivityForResult(intent, SPEECH_RECOGNITION_CODE);
        } catch (ActivityNotFoundException a) {
            Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Sorry! Speech recognition is not supported in this device.", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
        }
    }
    @Override
    protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
        super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
        switch (requestCode) {
            case SPEECH_RECOGNITION_CODE: {
                if (resultCode == RESULT_OK && null != data) {
                    ArrayList<String> result = data
                            .getStringArrayListExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_RESULTS);
                    String text = result.get(0);
                    txtOutput.setText(text);
                }
                break;
            }
        }
    }

}

3.       Make some changes in AndroidManifest.xml as below –

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"

    package="com.example.myfirstapp"

    android:versionCode="1"

    android:versionName="1.0">

    <application

        android:allowBackup="true"

        android:label="@string/app_name"

        android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >

        <activity android:name="MainActivity" >

            <intent-filter>

                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />

            </intent-filter>

        </activity>

    </application>

</manifest>

4.       Under layout folder à Have activity_main.xml as  below –

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"

    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"

    android:layout_width="match_parent"

    android:layout_height="match_parent"

    android:background="@color/black"

    android:orientation="vertical" >

    <TextView

        android:id="@+id/txt_output"

        android:layout_width="wrap_content"

        android:layout_height="wrap_content"

        android:layout_alignParentTop="true"

        android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"

        android:layout_marginTop="50dp"

        android:textColor="@color/green"

        android:text="Talk Time !"

        android:textSize="50dp"

        android:textStyle="bold" />

    <LinearLayout

        android:layout_width="wrap_content"

        android:layout_height="wrap_content"

        android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"

        android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"

        android:layout_marginBottom="200dp"

        android:gravity="center"

        android:orientation="vertical" >

        <ImageButton

            android:id="@+id/btn_mic"

            android:layout_width="100dp"

            android:layout_height="100dp"

            android:background="@color/black"

            android:scaleType="centerCrop"

            android:src="@mipmap/ic_launcher"

            />

        <TextView

            android:layout_width="wrap_content"

            android:layout_height="wrap_content"

            android:layout_marginTop="10dp"

            android:text="English Speech to text using Google API"

            android:textColor="@color/white"

            android:textSize="15dp"

            android:textStyle="italic" />

    </LinearLayout>

</RelativeLayout>

5.       You can also add colors as per your choice in values/colors.xml –

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<resources>

    <color name="colorPrimary">#3F51B5</color>

    <color name="colorPrimaryDark">#303F9F</color>

    <color name="colorAccent">#FF4081</color>

    <color name="white">#FFFFFF</color>

    <color name="black">#000000</color>

    <color name="red">#FF0000</color>

    <color name="blue">#0000FF</color>

    <color name="green">#00FF00</color>

    <color name="yellow">#F0F000</color>

</resources>

6.       Strings.xml –

<resources>

    <string name="app_name"> Speech To Text </string>

</resources>

Your IDE will show folder structure like this -

Once the compiler approves, you are ready to build your project as APK.

Export the APK into your Android device and BOOM, you are ready to install and flaunt you new Voice to Text converter.

The code mentioned above has been inspired from various hard-core online materials available, leaving the theoretical and explanatory parts to the readers. Happy Coding ...