Intelligent Rival Imitator of Siri - iris (alpha)

[obsessed2]

This is the Android equivalent to Apple's Siri.


Iris vs. Siri: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77B8DF0XMGc



So I asked iris, What is the weather like in Windsor, Virginia? Not only did iris come back with the current weather conditions but it also popped up a small weather forecast for today and tomorrow. Very cool.


So I tried another question: How many inches in a foot? iris answered it perfectly.


And another: How many milligrams in a gram? Another perfect answer.


I told Iris "show me a video of a cat singing" and iris returned a funny answer and up popped a YouTube video of a cats singing.



While iris obviously won't be able to answer all your love life questions it does do a pretty decent job on most basic questions. If iris doesn't know the answer it usually comes back with a humorous response. Because iris is in the alpha stage expect it to only become better over time. The best part is that iris works on the eDGe.




Here's what you will need to make it work:


1. Download Voice Search. Many of you may already have this installed. http://www.1mobile.com/voice-search-79945.html



Note: iris requires a TTS engine to work and either TTS Extended Service or PICO TTS (http://areacellphone.com/2010/01/dow...age-installer/) will work.

If you already have installed PICO TTS installed you do not need TTS Service Extended. I tried iris on my Viewsonic gTab with PICO TTS only installed and it worked fine. However, I highly recommend TTS Service Extended because it is a text-to-speech library manager. TTS Service Extended allows you to change speech rate and language.



2. Download TTS Service Extended if desired (http://androiddev.orkitra.com/downlo...oogle.tts_v3.1 or http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25986798/TTS...20Extended.apk). Open TTS Service Extended and make sure eSpeak TTS is checked. Close the App.


3. Download iris: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25986798/iri....2.Android.apk



To use iris, simply touch the small circle at the bottom of the screen and it will turn red, wait until AFTER you hear a short beep and then ask your question or state a word or phrase.



Here's some more questions to ask iris:

Why is the sky blue?

Should I watch the movie Sherlock Holmes?

How many liters in a gallon?

How tall is the Empire State building?

Tell iris you want to jump off a bridge and wait for the response.




Here's another App you may like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qctvClyMAzw

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25986798/Spe...t-28-0.3.6.apk


Named one of the Top Ten Android Apps of 2011 by the New York Times.

[ivanjt]

Is this available worldwide or only the US?

[obsessed2]

Originally Posted by ivanjt

Is this available worldwide or only the US?

I'm not 100% sure. However, I do know that in the description one of the databases that powers iris is World Weather Online. Yahoo, Bing, and Duck Duck Go appear to be the predominant search engines so I think there is a pretty good chance it may work outside the U.S. since it is powered by WiFi on the eDGe and not 3G or 4G. iris just returns the results of your question while the TTS takes place in the eDGe. You may have to increase Network Timeout under Preferences to compensate for any latency if you decide to try it. The default setting is 15 seconds but I haven't had it time out at all. All the files are free so there really isn't anything lost besides time if it doesn't work. Give it a shot and let us know if it works.


I asked iris how the weather is in Marseille, France and iris told me it was clear with a temperature of 27 degrees F (- 3C). Tommorw's high will be between 26F - 36F (-3C - 2C)

[jdm001]

I installed Vlingo on mine.

i had Siri back on my iphone back when it first came out (before they disabled it for the flagship app on the new iphone).

When it came outb Vlingo and Dragon Naturally Speaking were already popular. Vlingo does the same and was an easy install.

FYI Iris is Siri backward, and look up "Iris controversy" about some of the odd replies...

[lorenzoens]

Wow

http://www.minyanville.com/dailyfeed...rival-full-of/

[obsessed2]

iris is actually a pretty easy to install because most people already have Voice Search and some form of TTS on their eDGe.

Vlingo is really nice but it doesn't have answers to more complicated questions, and it doesn't always give a very comprehensive answer. I do like Vlingo's built in natural voice (iris will do natural voice with SVOX Classic TTS installed and a purchased language pack). If you like Vlingo try Speaktoit Assistant which also has built in natural voices and even pops up maps and photos right within the App. It's also better at answering questions (e.g. Show me pictures of Lady Gaga and up pops photos of Lady Gaga, or ask a math problem and Speaktoit answers it - so will iris. iris will even answer tougher ones too like what is the square root of 64 or what is 45 cubed? Try that with Vlingo). Speaktoit can also be used to manage your online Google calendar.

http://www.speaktoit.com/




I read about some of these earlier controversial responses from iris but the developer has since changed how these questions are handled.


People like to spark a controversy without looking at a possible underlying reason for the responses given.


These Apps rely on search engines (iris relies on Bing and Duck Duck Go in addition to Cha Cha) or will use some form of the question to form an answer. I have noticed that more of iris' answers come from WolframAlpha instead of Cha Cha.

Side Note: WolframAlpha (http://www.wolframalpha.com/) is one of my favorite websites and I recommend eDGe owners download the WolframAlpha Quicklaunch App (http://slideme.org/applications?text=wolfram%20alpha) - works best with Voice Search or Hacker's Keyboard (http://code.google.com/p/hackerskeyboard/ - Use Downloads Tab).


Anyway, Bing or Google "Is abortion wrong?" and see what the first viable answer to the question is literally taking the question into account. It should be the 2nd search result on Bing and the 3rd search result on Google. It's WORD for WORD from the article you link to (http://www.minyanville.com/dailyfeed...rival-full-of/). Think this might explain iris' initial response to the question? Possibly, but let's look at the supposed jugular question from the article.


Are whites superior to blacks? Bing or Google the question and take a look at the 2nd hit on Bing and the 3rd hit on Google. Look familiar? Merely a coincidence or think this had anything to do with iris' initial answer? Most likely the latter. However, I do think iris' developers should have and now have found a more suitable answer and not just someone's opinion. But, this is what to expect when you rely solely on search engine results.


Is Rape ever justified? Of course NOT, but if you are asking an App the answers to life's tough questions or just plain dumb questions don't be shocked when the answers are as intelligent as the person asking them.



I think that as these Apps evolve the developers will figure out better ways to filter the responses. Ask a controversial question today and you will likely get the answer at the top of the search engine. Ask the same question next month and the answer will change as the search results change. However, ask how many milligrams are in a gram and the answer remains the same always.



Apple's Siri has come under the same scrutiny. Some people even deemed Siri as Supremely Intelligent Racist IPhone.

Oh My !!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/1...n_1176952.html


http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/2622...troversies.htm


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfKS845K1mM



Here's a couple of hilarious parodies illustrating how foolish it is to take some of the answers given by an App seriously (Warning: Contains language and remarks which will offend some people).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byUIOHSGuzc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1cE9HptAwE


YouTube is full of these type of videos and it seems like a lot of people are vying for the funniest Siri video.

[Jeff Butler]

Here are some voices from IVONA. The one called Kendra sounds just like the Siri voice... Very high quality! I use them to read ebooks aloud...
They're free while in beta:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ivona.tts

Jeff

[obsessed2]

Originally Posted by Jeff Butler

Here are some voices from IVONA. The one called Kendra sounds just like the Siri voice... Very high quality! I use them to read ebooks aloud...
They're free while in beta:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ivona.tts

Jeff

Very nice. Here' some links for those who do not have access to the Android Market.


First: Download TTS Service Extended (Just Install, Do NOT open) http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25986798/TTS...20Extended.apk


Second: Download IVONA HQ (Just Install, Do NOT open)

http://androiddev.orkitra.com/downlo...a.tts_v1.0.10b

http://www.1mobile.com/ivona-text-to...hq-350250.html



Download an IVONA Voice App. After you download and install the App, open the App and it will download the voice data separately which takes a few minutes.


Amy UK: http://www.1mobile.com/ivona-amy-uk-...ta-348584.html


Kendra USA: http://www.1mobile.com/ivona-kendra-...ta-348586.html


Céline French: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25986798/com...ne_v1.0.8b.apk


Conchita Spanish: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25986798/com...p.conchita.apk


Marlene German: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25986798/com...marlene.13.apk


Nicole Australia: http://www.1mobile.com/ivona-nicole-...ta-348582.html


Once the App downloads the voice data you can launch the App, play a test voice, and vary the speech rate and pitch to your liking (slide the arrow near the button right).



Fourth: Open TTS Service Extended. Check IVONA Text-to-Speech HQ, select Default Engine and your IVONA language pack.


If you receive a Complete Action Using message from any App, check Use by default for this action and select TTS Service Extended.





Enjoy !

[jdm001]

By mentioning the controversy I wasn't saying to not download it, but that it was the funny thing that kind of put this app on the map.

The one other app that I am looking for is one called Jukevox by Orange Valleé. It's a great simple app for driving, it reads the different social networks, email, notes etc. I have it on the iphone and its great.

I have found it on the market, but it won't let me download. I have also found this app on their website as in apk file, but that one won't seem to be installed and downloads as a corrupted filed.

Can anyone else get this app to work, here is the file name i found, but it says Could Not Parse or Bad Zip File when i try to install or extract:

net.orangevallee.voxound_v1.3.3.apk

Can anyone help?

[fekhner]

thanks obsessed2, I am one of those without market access....

[obsessed2]

Originally Posted by jdm001

By mentioning the controversy I wasn't saying to not download it, but that it was the funny thing that kind of put this app on the map.

The one other app that I am looking for is one called Jukevox by Orange Valleé. It's a great simple app for driving, it reads the different social networks, email, notes etc. I have it on the iphone and its great.

I have found it on the market, but it won't let me download. I have also found this app on their website as in apk file, but that one won't seem to be installed and downloads as a corrupted filed.

Can anyone else get this app to work, here is the file name i found, but it says Could Not Parse or Bad Zip File when i try to install or extract:

net.orangevallee.voxound_v1.3.3.apk

Can anyone help?

Did you try downloading the apk using your eDGe or a PC? Sometimes an App downloaded by PC results in a parsing error versus downloading using the Android device. Very rare, but I have seen it happen a time or two. I looked at this App a while back but couldn't find a download link outside the Android Market. You say you downloaded it directly from Orange Valleé's website. Could you please provide a download link and I'll see if I have better luck.

[obsessed2]

Originally Posted by fekhner

thanks obsessed2, I am one of those without market access....

No problem. You will be pleasantly surprised by the voice quality. Very nice.