Speech to text / text to speech function in China

I want to work with an English teacher in China to develop a game/tutorial to teach HS "mechatronics" students English technical vocabulary.

What API is used? If it's google's, I would assume it won't work.

Any words of wisdom appreciated,
Dan

Hello Dan

The text to speech function uses whichever is the default engine on the device, the default usually being better than Google. Speech to text is Google and it actually works extremely well in App Inventor Apps. In both cases, much depends on just how technical the words are that you wish to use - we have Users using voice control for robots, domestic electrics (lighting and such) and even plant watering.

For voice control, it's best to use short commands - for example "forward" will work every time but "robot move forward" less so. Have the commands in a Static Block List and compare the speech-to-text result with that list - if the command is there it can be sent, if not the User can be asked to repeat.

In both cases we defer to services that implement TextToSpeech and SpeechRecognizer in Android. What exactly is used will depend on the device itself and what software is installed. For Google-branded devices, this will usually be Google services. Phones made by Huawei, Xiaomi, OnePlus, etc. may use Baidu or other services. I imagine if you're doing a workshop in China and students are using their own devices they will be fine as it won't end up being Google-oriented.

Thank you for responding.

Your reply, "The text to speech function uses whichever is the default engine on the device, the default usually being better than Google." contains the answer to my query. Google is not "built in" to your speech <-> text blocks. So my proposed app has a chance of working in China.

Thanks! Given your response, I'll give developing my app a go.

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