Hello, 

I downloaded Pilot2ATC recently and it looks like a really great programme. Unfortunately I'm not able to use the voice recognition aspect at all, due to the speech recognition software on Windows. 

I have a pretty strong northern English accent, which Windows clearly finds utterly incomprehensible. I've been through the training programme several times, tried it in both English-UK and English-US and even set it to 'recognise non-native accents', but to no avail. The problem is definitely with Windows and not Pilot2ATC because if I open a Word document and try to dictate anything I get gibberish. And its definitely my accent because it's word with lots of vowel sounds that it trips up on. 

There are speech-recognition programmes which work fine - for example the website speechnotes.co, which is just an in-browser programme, has no problem understanding me. So my question is, essentially, is there a way to change Pilot2ATC's input from Windows speech recognition to an alternative? I assume what it's doing is just taking a text output from the Windows software, so presumably any speech-to-text software could in theory provide an appropriate input? 

Thanks in advance for your help

There's not a way to change the speech recognition engine without rewriting a great deal of the program.

However, getting Windows set up properly and doing the P2A Language Training, not just the Grammar Helper, has worked for almost all accents.  

First, it is required to set English-US as the default Windows language and be sure the English-US Speech recognition engine is installed and set as the default language.  There is a checkbox in WIndows Speech setting to "Recognize non-native accents for this language".  If you have a strong accent, even an English one, I would recommend checking this option.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rjjny6dvekbe8fu9f0utw/Windows-Language-Setup-for-Pilot2ATC.pdf?rlkey=8ik4ybge0d3rtdns1g4an2m9u&dl=0

Second, you should follow the instructions for performing the Windows Language training for Pilot2ATC as described in the Operations guide.  Essentially, you open the Grammar Helper, then press the Train button in the bottom right of the window.  A Language Trainer will open and you then go through the training for each controller in the "Full Training" area.

This should get you to at least 90+% recognition.  

Next, in order for P2A to recognize your speech, you must use supported phrases.  While the program can understand a wide range of phrases, the "SayIt" phrases give you a base set that you can learn and use to make your flights.  Each controller has a set of phrases they can respond to.  If you ask Clearance delivery for taxi instructions, it won't respond or will respond with telling you their name and frequency.

Finally, turning on the Copilot to Respond to Radio will allow you to experience the flow of phrases as you learn the program.  You will only have to verbally, our using SayIt text clicks, say the phrases that initiate action, like requesting clearance, taxi and takeoff from the appropriate controller.

If you still can't get recognized, email me at [email protected] and I'll try and help you directly.

Dave

Hello, 

Many thanks, following that process does seem to have worked. And thanks also for the quick and comprehensive response. 

Jack