Hi all,
Is it possible to program Alpha 1 with conversation so that it responds to speech like Alexa or Siri? I am a conversational designer that builds chatbots, but really hoping to instill some voice response to this cute little robot.
Thanks for your input.
Hello @Jonyx and welcome to the RobotShop forum,
Alpha 1 doesn’t include a mic or any speech recognition hardware/software so I’m afraid it is not possible. But the same manufacturer does have a robot that can recognize voice commands named Lynx:
Unfortunately, it is not available in RobotShop.
I’m not sure if you already own Alpha 1 and wanted to add some extra features or were asking before purchasing it, if it is the second case then you might be interested in checking out the Humanoid and Biped Robots section of the store because there are some options that could allow you to add speech recognition, for example the:
Which is an Arduino Compatible Humanoid Robot, so you could add something like this:
Thank you Geraldine.
That is quite a selection. Which would you recommend? I am not an engineer, and failed miserably trying to build Rug Warrior many years ago.
Oh, I thought since you mentioned the word “install” you wanted to DIY/hack something up. But if what you’re looking for is a humanoid robot that responds to voice commands you can check this one:
Thank you Geraldine, it’s perfect! Think I’m in love.
So to be clear, can it vocally respond to questions and act accordingly? Can it talk back is what I am asking, and can I program its verbal responses?
(I am a conversation designer for chatbots and AI. I design conversations for Alexa as well as for chatbots on landing pages. )
Aside from the fun and learning, I am not seeing in the specifications whether I can program voice responses. If so, I will order one immediately!
Thank you for all your help.
Hi @Jonyx!
Thank you Geraldine, it’s perfect! Think I’m in love.
I’m glad you liked it! 
So to be clear, can it vocally respond to questions and act accordingly? Can it talk back is what I am asking, and can I program its verbal responses?
Yes, the robot has a built-in speaker to stream audio in real-time, play music, sound effects, or even text-to-speech from the PC or Mobile Device, so you can program JD to respond to questions!
I think you’ll be interested in this project:
I am a conversation designer for chatbots and AI. I design conversations for Alexa as well as for chatbots on landing pages
That sounds fun! It would be awesome if you could share a fun project with a robot like JD in the Robots section.
Hi Geraldine, another question if I may.
Is the software compatible with Mac OS or only Windows?
Also, is anything else needed other than what is in the box?
Thank you
J
Hello!
The software is called ARC and is only compatible with Windows but it also has a mobile version compatible with Android and iOS devices.
*Note: Due to Android devices having inconsistent OS versions and features between manufacturers and models, EZ-Robot is unable to support all features across all Android devices.
Also, is anything else needed other than what is in the box?
It depends on what you want to do with, the robot features the following:
