Is there a voice controlled TV (universal) remote for handicapped people? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2025, 10:50:15 pm
content: Solutions using a smartphone are out of the question because the person cannot use a smartphone (old, almost blind and with almost numb fingers).Alexa and similar devices are also out of the question because the content of conversations ends up on external servers and can be forwarded from there without any control.This means that only on-board voice recognition in the remote control without any internet connection is possible.The device should also only have a few buttons (one would be enough to activate the microphone and voice recognition for the moment).Is there such a thing?

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2025, 11:50:44 pm
content: Never heard of one, but the idea is wonderful.Blind people rely on feel, like the dimple on the "5" button, but with impaired fingertips, that won't work.Potentially a great project.

author: andy3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 12:00:54 am
content: Roku TV comes with a remote that has very few buttons and is voice activated. If you have the TV already, you can get the external Roku device and use it that way.

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 12:27:28 am
content: Quote from: andy3055 on January 22, 2025, 12:00:54 amI googled it briefly and if I understand correctly, Roku TV needs WiFi.Problem: there is no WiFi

author: eliocor
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 03:11:27 am
content: for an offline solution search for "TensorFlow Lite speech recognition ESP32"

author: andy3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 04:55:14 am
content: If there is no wifi, are you dependent on cable or antenna? What exactly are the conditions?

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 05:45:16 am
content: I don’t know of any universal remote control but back when I bought my LG Smart TV in late 2013 they had an option for a LG Magic Remote Control which incorporated gesture and voice command capability. As I understand it these remote controls were compatible with all their smart televisions but not their regular ones. I always wanted to get one of these remotes but had concerns that swearing at television programs might cause it to display porno sites by accident so I didn’t get one.You can search for "Voice Remote Control" in the support section of the site linked below for more information.https://www.lg.com/us/support

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 10:21:15 am
content: I had a chat with LG AI assistant.They said LG smart TVs need internet connection to use voice control.

author: KerimF
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 12:14:48 pm
content: I am afraid that this interesting project, an IR remote control unit which could be activated by voice, needs to be designed.To ease the design, a voice controlling signal (saved and recognized) could be just of two or three consecutive vowels (a, o, u, i... etc).But first of all, the designer needs to know the IR codes of the TV's remote-control unit (RCU) in order to implement them in his new IR unit. This may likely need him to also add an IR reader to get the code of each RCU key of the TV of interest.About 4 decades ago, I did somehow such a project when a customer needed to run (or turn off) his AC at home from his office. Instead of voice, the new IR unit detected the phone DTMF, sent by the user via the phone line (though it had to detect the phone ringer first, for a relatively long period of time, and have a connection). I mean there will be no need for a rather complex speech recognition algorithm.Kerim

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 12:25:21 pm
content: You could probably build something that can be configured to work in whatever way you want voice wise by combining home assistant an IR blaster and esp32 voice controlThe main advantage is you could setup whatever voice commands you want to do whatever TV buttons or button combos you want. And all the voice control is local.And home assistant is GUI configurable for the most part, so it shouldn't be too hard to setup. You shouldn't have to do any coding/scripting. The only bit i'm not totally sure about is the IR Blaster stuff.One thing that may be an issue, no matter what platform you go with, is if you want to detect voice commands while the TV audio is playing. So trying to detect user voice while TV voice is playing over the top.But you talk about having a button to activate voice control, so you could probably make HA send the mute command when the button is pressed, which would likely solve that issue.If you try this approach I recommend a Raspberry Pi 5 at the minimum.Voice related tasks are quite cpu intensive.Another annoyance you get when sending IR codes is state tracking when the IR command is a toggle. Like mute/poweron-off, if a command is sent but not received the system doesn't know that. So you really want the IR blaster to be taped to the IR sensor on the TV so nothing can get in the way and block a command.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 12:42:22 pm
content: Quote from: Greybeard on January 22, 2025, 10:21:15 amThe LG AI assistant needs an internet connexion. However, in 2013 when we got our first LG TV with a magic remote control there was voice control without an internet connextion. I think there are two voice modes. One which works locally, and the more flexible AI assistant, which requires an internet connexion.Those magic remote controls are a hybrid IR and radio design. They use IR to turn the TV on and off, and they will output IR to control a non-smart LG TV, but they normally use radio for most functions.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 01:04:25 pm
content: Quote from: Greybeard on January 22, 2025, 10:21:15 amThat's disappointing, back in the day I remember watching a few videos and reading about the convenience of their voice remotes but must have missed the active network connection requirement. Perhaps another option to consider is if the television has USB inputs then some type of voice activated USB control device might work. The LG 32LA6230 I am posting this reply on supports wired or wireless mice, keyboards and some game controllers.

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 01:27:37 pm
content: Quote from: andy3055 on January 22, 2025, 04:55:14 amIt's a PHILIPS LCD TV with internal SAT-Receiver. No Smart-TV, no internet. no wifi.

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 01:34:26 pm
content: Quote from: coppice on January 22, 2025, 12:42:22 pmCan you tell me the model number of this 2013 TV?.Maybe I used the wrong words...I meant I spoke to LG support via chat. This chat was not replied by a person but by an AI bot.You used "LG AI Assistant" to mean voice control.

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 01:46:28 pm
content: Quote from: eliocor on January 22, 2025, 03:11:27 amI'm still googling...But maybe you can answer my questions about TensorFlow:1. Is there only a predefined command set or can I use/create my own (german) commands?2. Is the TensorFlow module a standalone module with switching outputs or do I need an additional CPU module (like Arduino etc.)?

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 01:50:06 pm
content: Quote from: Greybeard on January 22, 2025, 01:34:26 pmNo I didn't. I used AI assistant just as LG do, to refer to their current voice command system. When you get an LG TV you have to accept an agreement before you can use this function.The TVs we have now are a 5 year old LG and a 2 year old LG. The 5 year old one has a menu where you can choose between AI assistant or LG ThinQ as the voice recognition system. I think LG ThinQ is the system our old 2013 set had, which died and was replaced. When I look in the menus of the 2 year old TV I can't see any options for voice recognition. You accept the agreement and use AI assistant, or you don't have voice recognition available.

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 07:06:05 pm
content: Quote from: coppice on January 22, 2025, 01:50:06 pmNo offense.I didn't write that you were using "LG AI Assistant" incorrectly, I just happened to use the same term for the chatbot that answered my questions (I asked two similar but different questions and got the exact same answer).

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 07:28:47 pm
content: Can I use this "voice recognition module V3.1"?https://funduinoshop.com/en/detail/index?sArticle=1505&sCategory=332&number=F23108655&nb_arq=1

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 10:33:30 pm
content: Quote from: Langdon on January 22, 2025, 09:09:21 pmYou can automatically mute the TV audio signal while pressing the mic-button of the remote.Problem solved.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2025, 11:08:55 pm
content: There are a few of theses out there:https://www.amazon.com/Activated-Device-Universal-Remote-Display/dp/B00008VEKE

author: eliocor
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 12:03:40 am
content: Quote from: SiliconWizard on January 22, 2025, 11:08:55 pmJust take a look at the reviews!QuoteTensorFlow is not an HW module but a SW package ofMachine Learning(ML): you have to implement the whole system (HW+SW) but it is very flexible and you can train it to recognize words in any languages (BTW, even sounds).I used/trained it to recognize the 3 different ringtones (gate/door/phone) for my aunt who is completely deaf...To my knowledge, a simple ESP32-S3 module, paired with an I2S microphone and an IR LED (less than 10÷15€) will be enough to solve your problems (not counting the time spent in writing the SW).Just some (random) links:https://www.pinchofintelligence.com/detecting-bats-recognising-sound-tensorflow/https://blog.tensorflow.org/2021/09/TinyML-Audio-for-everyone.htmlhttps://www.elektormagazine.com/articles/tensorflow-lite-for-microcontrollers-an-introductionhttps://github.com/mocleiri/tensorflow-micropython-examples/tree/main/examples/micro-speechhttps://github.com/GianlucaPaolocci/Sound-classification-on-Raspberry-Pi-with-Tensorflow

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 12:22:13 am
content: Quote from: SiliconWizard on January 22, 2025, 11:08:55 pmInteresting.I found a manual for this remote:https://www.remotecodelist.com/remotes/invocamanual.pdf(c) 2000 irritates me somehow.Also found a video on youtube:(I try to contact the manufacturer.)Quote from: eliocor on January 23, 2025, 12:03:40 amOk, and it seems to be a very old concept.

author: donlisms
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 06:55:09 am
content: Honestly, when I’m old and even less able than I am now, I’d want the simplest solution possible. If I could mash huge up/down buttons with my fist, or my foot, or elbow, I’d be happy. Out of the thousands of channels, I only watch 12 of them anyway, so cycling through is not a big deal.I just can’t help but wonder if voice recognition is a modern-think overkill. Like my old mentor used to say, “Simple is Good.”

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 09:21:52 am
content: Quote from: donlisms on January 23, 2025, 06:55:09 amUnfortunately, "voice recognition" is quite complicated; even the reverse way (i.e. synthesis) is far from perfect, though way simpler than recognition.I think the old solutions tried to use modulation of only a few recognizable words, and considering even in the same language spoken, people from 500 miles away might pronounce words so differently, you have a hard time recognizing them. Kills a simplified recognition method, I assume.Large phonem databases will certainly help with that, I would assume a modern Raspi could handle that standalone; a cheap MCU for a remote control likely not.However there might be teachable remotes that respond to a pre-recorded sound, that would only work for one person though.

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 09:29:39 am
content: Quote from: donlisms on January 23, 2025, 06:55:09 amTechnically you are right.But pushing mic-button and saying "TV on" "sports channel" "louder" is even more simple for the user.

author: eliocor
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 10:08:03 am
content: The easy way in terms of time spent (not tried by me):-https://www.dfrobot.com/product-2665.html-https://www.elechouse.com/product/speak-recognition-voice-recognition-module-v3/-https://store.arduino.cc/products/grove-speech-recognizerThe hard way (you have to study the argument and make the training):how to do it in some simple stepsSuggested readings:https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/tinyml/9781492052036/https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/tensorflow-for-deep/9781491980446/https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/hands-on-machine-learning/9781492032632/https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/learning-tensorflow/9781491978504/I have also checked and found some corpora containing German spoken words but I do not know if they can be useful for your needs.

author: Langdon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 03:42:29 pm
content: Simple is good.Low-tech solutions are awesome!I like the idea of just 5(3) buttons:POWERVOLUME UP/DOWNCHANNEL UP/DOWNThe volume and channels are limited to what the user wants (only the channels the person likes can be selected)If the user is hard of hearing, the volume should probably have only a couple available levels:Earsplitting, less earsplitting, normal(to prevent those who are not hard of hearing from becoming so), and mute.Voice recognition seems a bit overkill.Most people eho are diabled and hard of hearing are not familiar with voice-activation.Plus, there are a lot of problems with voice control.Imagine this scenario:What person says: "I turn on the TV every day and watch CP24."What the remote hears: "Turn on the TV."AI ain't as intelligent as people think.Sometimes, it is really smart; other times, it is SO stupid!

author: Langdon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 03:44:25 pm
content: Any speech recognition solution for German will be sub-par.All the work goes into English (or possibly Chinese, etc.)

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:17:41 pm
content: Quote from: Langdon on January 23, 2025, 03:44:25 pmIt depends a lot on the nature of the language. 25 years ago almost all effort was on English and Mandarin. However, I found the best reliability to be with the Cantonese recognisers, which had only had a small effort put into them. I'm a native English speaker, and a second language rather poor Cantonese speaker with a terrible accent, and I had much better results with the Cantonese recognisers.

author: Terry Bites
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 06:32:54 pm
content: https://www.hellotech.com/guide/for/how-to-control-tv-with-alexa?srsltid=AfmBOorcKcHYeFzsXKxkpczMZcjzkb5ZpnTURETJTqHGOsJhIzGrvmfp

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 06:44:20 pm
content: Quote from: Langdon on January 23, 2025, 03:42:29 pmYou can use a mic activation button that activates the system only while the button is pressed.That button can also mute the TV.

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 06:49:20 pm
content: Quote from: Langdon on January 23, 2025, 03:44:25 pmWhat about self-learning systems?

author: Fryguy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:03:11 pm
content: How about something entirely mechanical ?One big button and an industrial grade joystick ( with mechanical switches ) wired to the original or a cheap universal remote control .Button : on/offUp/down : channel up/downLeft/right : volume up/downSuper easy to make . . .This is a real self-learning system - it knows what to do when it is fully assembled . . .

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 09:14:12 pm
content: A camera with hand gestures detection would be interesting.Basically you 'sign' the command you want.It has the advantage of not being audio based so wont get confused with TV audio, doesn't need to mute it, and detection could be locked down to only see you signing when seated in a specific TV watching chair/sofa

author: Greybeard
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 10:13:26 pm
content: Quote from: Fryguy on January 23, 2025, 07:03:11 pmInteresting.Quote from: Psi on January 23, 2025, 09:14:12 pmAlso interesting.

author: Langdon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2025, 08:15:37 pm
content: Quote from: coppice on January 23, 2025, 05:17:41 pmCool!That's so strange!Perhaps the phonemes in Cantonese are easily interpreted by a computer and cheapo mic.Or maybe the people the machine learned from have the same accent and broken Cantonese as you do!