Test of Text-to-Speech (TTS) Abbreviations in Waze Clients

[GizmoGuy411]

Less is better is also my opinion.. However for the purposes of this list more is better to learn how the TTS works. Then we can make our suggestions to Waze including everything we think that should be pruned.

Also looked into Nuance some more and found their product called Vocalizer that specifically included our two voice choices; Samantha, and Tom.

Interestingly Waze x.120 has voice files that include a canned set of English and Hebrew prompts? Many that I have never heard before.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[GizmoGuy411]

The results are back for the first abbreviations that were tested that started with the letters "A" and "B".

It is a slow process to test, as I need to drive to the location, and use my Android device to hear the TTS output. Then I need to hunt down the TTS file created and copy it to my PC. Each road in the sand box test rig has multiple abbreviations separated by spaces and slashes. Since slash marks still do not produce a pause, the playback needs to be slowed down and listened to repeatedly until each abbreviation can be heard. So far I have not been able to find the TTS files in iPad. (Slashed have now been replaced with commas to help in this process.)

I have not yet added any suggestions from this thread to the test rig in the sand box, as I wanted to experiment with the initial submissions first. I will also test to see if commas create a pause, and if colons create pauses all the time or just after the word "Exit".

Now that I have a process, hopefully I can test the results of the remainder of the initial submissions soon. Once complete, I'll submit the remainder of the abbreviations in the list, and add those suggested in this tread.

The link to the file has changed to:
The https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... TRzYUhGN0E
(I'll try to figure out how to to change the document without changing the link in the future. [DONE])

For those interested in playing the TTS files on their PC, I've tried several audio players to attempt to slow down the playback without changing the pitch. Audacity had the capability, however the playback of the TTS files (in AAC file format) was distorted, even in normal play. I eventually gave up and just used Windows Media Player, which at least allowed me to slow down the playback. Since I use the Nuance Samantha voice in Waze, she was still understandable at slow speeds. Although she sounds like she should have gave up smoking many years ago.

[Update: If I append a dot MP2 or dot MP4 to the TTS file name, the WM player adjusts the pitch automatically as the speed is slowed down. Now she just sounds like she is off the cigs and on some bad drugs.]

[2012-08-20 Update: To hear the most current TTS results from your Waze client device, it may be necessary to clear your current TTS cache. Enter "cc@tts" without quotes in the Navigation search to clear the cache. Waze should reply with a "TTS cache has been cleared!" popup box. Then wait for "Searching ..." to end.]

If you would like to hear the TTS files on your Android device, I would recommend using the "ES File Explorer" app.: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... oid.pop&hl

Navigate to /sdcard/waze/tts/database/lucal_nuance_8_mp3_Samantha_Female or /sdcard/waze/tts/database/local_nuance_8_mp3_Tom_Male to see the files. The file path may be slightly different with different os verions.

The file explorer actually has an audio player that will play the files fine.

So far I have not found a way to see the files directly on an Apple iOS device.

[GizmoGuy411]

Does anyone have any thoughts about "one half", "three quarters", or (my personal favorite for the sheer ridiculous factor) "fifty one-hundredths"?

No....

[GizmoGuy411]

All suggestions from this forum (except for Jenn's last ones) are added to the list as of this post. Thanks everyone.

The letters of the alphabet were also added as uppercase letters and as uppercase capital letters in quotes. Additionally, the letters , "N", "E", "S", and "W" were also added with all combinations of upper and lower case, with single and double and with and without trailing periods.

I will add all the above to the sandbox test rig as soon I as get a chance.

As Jenn suggested (thanks Jenn), all the slashes have been removed in the rig and replaced with commas, so that after the next map updates, it should be easier to understand the TTS output. Currently it is a very slow process.

The list now includes results for the initially submitted abbreviations from "A" through "H".

In my above post, viewtopic.php?f=10&t=15178&p=144296#p144296 i've updated the bottom "side note" to include another playback trick to keep the pitch understandable.

[GizmoGuy411]

Gizmo,
Looking at the spreadsheet, a few questions... particularly for those of us who might want to play along and help the effort.

* If the "Date added to WME" is null, can you confirm that none of them have been added yet?
* Have all the "1" values been added and we are just waiting for the laborious process of you testing them?

Propose adding an "Editor" column, in case others want to join in, and maybe something to indicate "non-standard but editor requested"?

J

PS I've set up my little test for a few possible variations to get Colorado, my fractional desires, as well as some different "special" cases...

Yes to both questions. I intended to use a key instead of an actual date for when an abbreviation was added to WME, however I may just scrap it and use a date anyway

I needed to add the various dates so I could track where I was in the process, since it involves multiple steps.

So you can see with all the nulls that I have a lot to test yet.

As far adding an "Editor" column, i'm not sure of your intended purpose, as I have already added suggestions as they come in. As far as your special fractional streets go, as long as you have a rig set up, just let me know the results of each and I'll add them to the list.

Once we have a decent list, I'll add it to the Wiki.

[GizmoGuy411]

For those who would like to hear Samatha or Tom (plus others) convert text to speech, here is link to Nuance's interactive demo of their "Vocalizer for Netrork 5" product. Note that although the database is similar, it is not customized with their automotive product, or with Waze customizations.

Interactive TTS Demo: http://www.nuance.com/vocalizer5/flash/index.html

The sister product that Waze appears to use, is Nuance's "Vocalizer for Automotive" (no demo found), that has a preconfigured database customized for automotive use, and includes their Vocalizer Studio, which allows for a customization like several people in the various threads here about TTS have talked about; "it also allows customized text processing and the creation of user dictionaries for exception pronunciations."

The Nuance Language Portfolio for their Automotive Services, for the US English in the Americas, shows Samantha and Tom which Waze uses and Lisa who is not available in Waze. Check it out for other voices.

Edited 2012-05-09 to include additional relevant links to Nuance.

[GizmoGuy411]

Whats does "n/a" in the confirmed results column mean?

"n/a" = "not available"

Was just something I thought of fast to indicate that the abbreviation was tested, and no tts was available for the test abbreviation.

I'll add the explanation to the notes

[GizmoGuy411]

Not that the info is too useful, but when there is no TTS available, does that mean the TTS engine tries to sound out the entry as a word or does it try to spell out the entry as letters?

Yes, it means that the TTS result is either the abbreviation pronounced as spelled or the letters spelled out. I had thought about differentiating which result was obtained, however like you said, I did not think it was important enough to keep track of.

If everyone thinks I should differentiate them, I would have to go back and find the results for the few "n/a" entries already entered.

[GizmoGuy411]

So you can see with all the nulls that I have a lot to test yet.
(...)
As far adding an "Editor" column, i'm not sure of your intended purpose

Given how much you have yet to test, perhaps other editors would be willing/able to set up test rigs as well, to share the effort? Such as mine own? So I could conceivably test some of the outstanding options on your spreadsheet and could indicate which were being tested by me...

That would be great. Just let me know what you are testing, and I''ll add it to the list and find a way to mark it as being tested by someone else... prob just another column like you suggested, but call it
Tester or Reviewer.


Anything with a null in that column is fair game then. I was going to submit a few tonight, but too tired to start it.

I would give access to the spreadsheet to others, but I prefer to edit in Excel and upload it, so sharing the Google Doc is not a viable option.

[GizmoGuy411]

The list has been updated to include all the Canada Post abbreviations. More were added than I would have imagined, as less were in common with the USPS abbreviations than expected.

I have also submitted to WME, all the USPS official abbreviations for the U.S. States, Districts, Territories, Possessions, and the Canadian Provinces.

They have been submitted in both all upper case, and in leading upper case only.