How to create a simple voice-activated assistant in C#.

This is really old. I will release another tutorial updating this eventually. Follow my blog to get an update when that happens. Thanks!

While this sounds advanced (and it can be), it’s not that hard to set up a very basic setup where a custom application runs in the background in C# by using the built in speech recognition libraries in Windows 10.

Taking this idea further, I personally have a “Jarvis” that runs on my computer, automating basically all of my common actions, including launching games, music, sleeping my computer, adjusting the volume, minimizing windows, controlling the lights, and (best of all), sending emails and messages. I recommend using an external API for speech recognition if you’re serious about building something similar, as Microsoft’s sucks. You can build your own, or attempt to use something like Google’s API.

Anyway, here’s some simple C# code that should get some ideas flowing.


using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using Microsoft.Speech.Recognition;
using Process = System.Diagnostics.Process;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace VoiceAssistant
{
class Program
{
#region Native Stuff
const int Hide = 0;
const int Show = 1;
[DllImport("Kernel32.dll")]
private static extern IntPtr GetConsoleWindow();
[DllImport("User32.dll")]
private static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int cmdShow);
[DllImport("PowrProf.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, ExactSpelling = true)]
public static extern bool SetSuspendState(bool hiberate, bool forceCritical, bool disableWakeEvent);
#endregion
static SpeechRecognitionEngine speechRecognitionEngine;
static bool speechOn = true;
private static string clipboardText;
private static bool shouldLog = true;
private static readonly string[] commands =
{
"assistant mute",
"assistant open clipboard",
"assistant new tab",
"assistant work music",
"assistant new github",
"assistant sleep computer confirmation 101",
"assistant shut down computer confirmation 101",
"assistant open story",
"assistant open rocket league"
};
static void HideWindow()
{
//Hide window
IntPtr hWndConsole = GetConsoleWindow();
if (hWndConsole != IntPtr.Zero)
{
ShowWindow(hWndConsole, Hide);
shouldLog = false;
//ShowWindow(hWndConsole, Show);
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
HideWindow();
//Console.WriteLine("[ASSISTANT AI INITIALIZED]");
CultureInfo cultureInfo = new CultureInfo("en-us");
speechRecognitionEngine = new SpeechRecognitionEngine(cultureInfo);
speechRecognitionEngine.SetInputToDefaultAudioDevice();
speechRecognitionEngine.SpeechRecognized += SpeechRecognition;
speechRecognitionEngine.SpeechDetected += SpeechDetected;
speechRecognitionEngine.SpeechHypothesized += SpeechHypothesized;
LoadCommands();
while (true)
{
Thread.Sleep(60000);
}
}
static void LoadCommands()
{
/*Grammar muteCommand = new Grammar(new GrammarBuilder(commands[0]));
Grammar browserOpenCopiedLink = new Grammar(new GrammarBuilder(commands[1]));
Grammar browserCopyLink = new Grammar(new GrammarBuilder(commands[2]));
speechRecognitionEngine.LoadGrammar(muteCommand);
speechRecognitionEngine.LoadGrammar(browserOpenCopiedLink);
speechRecognitionEngine.LoadGrammar(browserCopyLink);*/
foreach (string command in commands)
{
speechRecognitionEngine.LoadGrammarAsync(new Grammar(new GrammarBuilder(command)));
}
speechRecognitionEngine.RecognizeAsync(RecognizeMode.Multiple);
Console.Beep(600, 200);
Console.Beep(600, 200);
}
static void SpeechHypothesized(object sender, SpeechHypothesizedEventArgs e)
{
//Log(e.Result.Text);
}
static void SpeechDetected(object sender, SpeechDetectedEventArgs e)
{
//Log("Detected speech.");
}
static void SpeechRecognition(object sender, SpeechRecognizedEventArgs e)
{
string resultText = e.Result.Text.ToLower();
float confidence = e.Result.Confidence;
SemanticValue semantics = e.Result.Semantics;
Log("\nRecognized: " + resultText + " | Confidence:" + confidence);
if (confidence < 0.6)
{
Log("Not sure what if you said that. Not proceeding.", ConsoleColor.Red);
return;
}
if (resultText == commands[0])
{
speechOn = !speechOn;
Log("Speech on: " + speechOn);
if (speechOn)
{
Console.Beep(600, 200);
Console.Beep(600, 200);
}
else
{
Console.Beep(400, 400);
}
return;
}
if (!speechOn)
{
Log("AI is muted. Not doing any commands.");
Console.Beep(400, 200);
return;
}
if (resultText == commands[1]) //Open link on clipboard.
{
Thread clipboardThread = new Thread(param =>
{
if (Clipboard.ContainsText(TextDataFormat.Text))
{
clipboardText = Clipboard.GetText(TextDataFormat.Text);
}
});
clipboardThread.SetApartmentState(ApartmentState.STA);
clipboardThread.Start();
clipboardThread.Join();
Log(clipboardText);
Process.Start(clipboardText);
}
if (resultText == commands[2]) //Open browser
{
Process.Start("https://google.com");
}
if (resultText == commands[3]) //Open work music
{
Process.Start("https://youtu.be/Qku9aoUlTXA?list=PLESPkMaANzSj91tvYnQkKwgx41vkxp6hs");
}
if (resultText == commands[4]) //Open Github new repository
{
Process.Start("https://github.com/new");
}
if (resultText == commands[5]) //Sleep computer
{
SetSuspendState(false, true, true);
}
if (resultText == commands[6]) //Shutdown computer
{
Process.Start("shutdown", "/s /t 0");
}
if (resultText == commands[7]) //Open story
{
Process.Start("https://docs.new");
}
if (resultText == commands[9]) //Open Rocket League
{
Process.Start("C:\\Users\\USER\\Documents\\SteamLauncher\\RocketLeague.exe");
}
}
static void Log(string input, ConsoleColor color = ConsoleColor.White)
{
if (shouldLog)
{
Console.ForegroundColor = color;
Console.WriteLine(input);
Console.ResetColor();
}
}
}
}

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simplevoiceassistant.cs

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Published 2019-05-22 18:10:00

semver.org

Standards are important, especially with computers. Without standards, you end up with crap like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Too little, too late.

And one of the things that’s needed a standard for a very, very, very long time are version numbers. Ever notice some versions for software are like 2019.2.4, while others are like 1.0, 1.1, 0.1, alpha, beta, beta-0rc1, and 89.23x? It’s so confusing to know whether anything is up to date, what you’re updating to, and who is on what. Is version 0.9 of the triangle generator library compatible with version v1.3.0m of the graphics processing library?

Who knows, because everyone just kinda comes up with an arbitrary number to represent the state that their letters of code are currently in.

Here’s how Fortnite does version numbers.

Fortnite does version numbers like this, while Overwatch does version numbers like… this…

Yeah… I dunno either. Epic Games and Blizzard are both major companies, though. Surely they follow some sort of protocol?

Here’s how Steam does version numbers.

Cool. None. Just a date.

Meanwhile, Google Chrome over here is on version “74.0.3729” currently, so good for them.

Anyway, the point is, there needs to be a standard so that it’s simple and clear to see how much something has updated since your version, what version you have in relation to the latest version, and for simplicity’s sake, not five hundred characters.

Introducing semver.org, it is a global attempt at a standard for software versioning around the world. It’s a simple, clean, and effective method of versioning your software, and since discovering it I have been adopting it into all of my new projects, and as many of the older ones I’m still currently working on as I can. If you want to help, simply go to semver.org, read the rules, and share it with other software engineers.

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Published 2019-05-03 01:25:27

The future of phones: Is it folding?

The verge released this video, and I wanted to write a couple of my thoughts down as well.

I don’t think that as of right now, you should buy a folding phone. A folding phone is just too bulky, too big, not refined enough, and way too expensive. Your money would be better spent elsewhere.

The folding technology would be better served, I think, in tablets. Portable tablets that you can fit into your pocket while you’re going to your flight sound much better, to me, than a phone that can turn into a tablet.

And, in the future, phones will be able to. But for now, the thickness of the device coupled with the space between the two slabs of device renders it a choice I’m not even gonna consider this year or the year after, until they get flatter and cheaper.

I’m not saying that this wasn’t expected. It is. This is the natural early release of any revolutionary technology or product. The first iPhone compared to the 5th was a WORLD of difference in only a few short years. The same will be true of the folding phones. I just recommend not jumping on the bandwagon just yet, as I have faith that the technology will make leaps and bounds and be nearly unrecognizable from the clunky device that we have in front of us right now.

EDIT 2/7/2022: The Flip3 from Samsung is almost there. Few more years and it’ll be mainstream 🙂

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Published 2019-04-15 15:42:07

How to create custom tiles for your Windows 10 start menu.

Download the program from here that is called “Custom Native Tile” and run it. Type your search query into the bar at the top to filter for programs. Click on the program path listed in the viewing window and then click SELECT IMAGE. Click the image that you’d like to use for the tile image (recommended: square aspect ratio and about a 300×300 resolution), and hit SAVE. That’s it!

Patrons get early access to programs like this and a bunch of other perks!

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Published 2019-04-03 08:38:42

The problems with Unity’s business model.

$125 is a chunk of change. $125/month is even more. When a monthly subscription is offered, it’s because that subscription is consistently bringing in value.

This is exactly what Unity3D, a widely used game engine, is asking from “freelancers”. They recommend using their “Pro” tier, which is $125 per month, if you’re in a team or you’re a “freelancer”, whatever they define that to be.

If you’re a “hobbyist”, you should apparently pay $35 a month, or ~$25 per month if you prepay for a year.

If you’re a “beginner” (or don’t have $300 laying around to pay per year), then you should use the free version.

Now, let’s talk about benefits that these versions give you.

This screenshot may be out of date to their current pricing.

The Unity page lists “benefits” of their Pro and Plus versions, while listing nothing for the Personal version. However, in my opinion, the benefits listed are virtually worthless. I have never used or wanted to use any of them, and I own the Plus version.

Here are my “benefits” that I get with my Plus license:

Support to accelerate learning & development

  • Benefits with Prepaid plan only:
  • Learn the essentials of game development with 12 months access to Unity Game Dev Courses ($144 value)
  • Get 25GB Unity Cloud Storage ($60 value)
  • Attend monthly Expert Live Sessions. Speed up your development with technical know-how from Unity engineers ($240 value)
  • Limited access to a Customer Success Advisor: get help finding the tools and resources you need to succeed
  • Save 20% on top-rated assets in the Asset Store*

Personally, I don’t care about any of these things. You might. However, there are two features I DO care about, being a professional software engineer who wants the things they make to look polished.

1) Dark theme

2) Splash screen controls (and ability to disable built-in Unity splash screen)

Theme Comparisons

Light Theme

 

Dark Theme

Some of you may think, “so what?”, but I can tell you that the light theme is an absolute eye-sore, especially if you’ve been staring at a screen for 8 hours.

The Splash Screen

And of course, the main reason why everyone who’s serious about developing games purchases a license for Unity: the splash screen.

You see, Unity forces non-subscribers to display an obnoxious “Made with Unity” or “Powered by Unity” (depending on which version of said engine you have), that looks something like this:

This is a bad move. You may be thinking to yourself right about now: “Well, makes sense, because they want to get at least SOMETHING out of distributing their engine for free. Why not popularity?”

This is true. Except it will be bad popularity. Let’s walk through this.

Let’s imagine there are two people using Unity. Bob, who has never developed anything in his life, and Kyle, who is a professional at developing games. Bob makes a crappy little box simulation with built in assets and it runs like crap because it is crap. No offense to Bob, he’s just completely new to developing games. He’s also using the personal version of Unity, obviously, because he’s brand new and wants to try to make something cool. He happily publishes his creation online, and some people download his game and see what an absolute mess it is. They also notice a very large, long, “Made with Unity” splash screen that displays for five seconds. Their parting thoughts? “Wow, Unity must be for people who don’t know how to make games.”

Kyle, on the other hand, is a professional. He buys Unity Plus for ~$25 a month because he hates the Unity splash screen, and wants to remove it so that he can put his own splash screen or logo. When Kyle uploads his professionally made, polished game, people enjoy it. And they also don’t know it’s made with Unity, because he removed it.

Notice a pattern here? Unity has received a very bad reputation among the gamer community (and somehow no one can figure out why), because every terrible game ever has a “Made with Unity” splash screen. What Unity SHOULD be doing, is PAYING developers such as the ones who made Cuphead (which is made with Unity if you didn’t know before) to put the Unity Splash on their game, and letting beginners remove it. Beat Saber is an immensely popular VR game that is made with Unity, but no general consumer is aware of that fact. Unity should be trying to control the positive PR as much as possible to drive more developers to their platform and rid the “terrible game engine” stigma from the engine’s name.

Unity states that they’re “the world’s leading real-time engine”, and is “used to create half of the world’s games”. They might want to start trying to put their name on the good ones.

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Published 2019-02-16 01:45:28

The data breach continues.

Continuing on from last time’s blog post, here’s some more bad news. Security researchers believe that Collection #1 was part of a larger series of data breaches. Seven of them in total so far.

  • “ANTIPUBLIC #1” (102.04 GB)
  • “AP MYR & ZABUGOR #2” (19.49 GB)
  • “Collection #1” (87.18 GB)
  • “Collection #2” (528.50 GB)
  • “Collection #3” (37.18 GB)
  • “Collection #4” (178.58 GB)
  • “Collection #5” (40.56 GB)

This amounts to an absolutely HUGE amount of leaked data.

 

What should I do?

The same as before. Check your passwords on this website once a week for a month or so. Make sure you’re using passwords over 8 characters with a mix of symbols and other characters. Ignore any emails that claim to have hacked your email address and want Bitcoin from you.

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Published 2019-02-05 16:51:07