Create a voice-activated assistant

Creating a voice-activated assistant involves integrating speech recognition, natural language processing, and speech synthesis. Here’s a clear, step-by-step guide to build a simple voice assistant using Python with popular libraries like SpeechRecognition, pyttsx3 for text-to-speech, and some basic command handling.

Step 1: Install Required Libraries

bash
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pip install SpeechRecognition pyttsx3 pyaudio

Note: On some systems, installing pyaudio might require extra steps or system-specific packages.

Step 2: Basic Voice Assistant Code

python
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import speech_recognition as sr
import pyttsx3

# Initialize recognizer and TTS engine
recognizer = sr.Recognizer()
tts_engine = pyttsx3.init()

def speak(text):
    tts_engine.say(text)
    tts_engine.runAndWait()

def listen():
    with sr.Microphone() as source:
        print("Listening...")
        recognizer.adjust_for_ambient_noise(source)
        audio = recognizer.listen(source)
    try:
        command = recognizer.recognize_google(audio)
        print(f"You said: {command}")
        return command.lower()
    except sr.UnknownValueError:
        speak("Sorry, I did not understand that.")
        return ""
    except sr.RequestError:
        speak("Sorry, my speech service is down.")
        return ""

def process_command(command):
    if 'hello' in command:
        speak("Hello! How can I assist you today?")
    elif 'time' in command:
        from datetime import datetime
        now = datetime.now().strftime("%H:%M")
        speak(f"The current time is {now}")
    elif 'exit' in command or 'quit' in command:
        speak("Goodbye!")
        return False
    else:
        speak("Sorry, I can't do that yet.")
    return True

def main():
    speak("Voice assistant activated. Say something.")
    running = True
    while running:
        command = listen()
        if command:
            running = process_command(command)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

How It Works

• The program listens to your voice input via the microphone.

• Converts speech to text using Google’s Speech Recognition API.

• Processes simple commands like greetings, checking the time, or exiting.

• Responds with spoken feedback.

How to Expand

• Add more commands (e.g., weather, web search, controlling apps).

• Integrate with APIs (Google, OpenWeather, Wikipedia).

• Use NLP libraries like spaCy or transformers for better understanding.

• Implement wake word detection for hands-free activation.

Would you like me to help you create a more advanced voice assistant or integrate specific features?