Android extras about speech recognition does not work

Question

I am currently busy with speech recognition, and I want speech recognizer to listen me continously, forever. The purpose of the app is, it is going to wait for speech of a specific keyword: when the user says this keyword, the service becomes ready to receive user voice commands After research I found that we can manupulate the time that the recognizer listens. By these constants:

By the way the default recognizer service listens about 10 seconds. (The google api)

     String EXTRA_SPEECH_INPUT_COMPLETE_SILENCE_LENGTH_MILLIS   The amount of time that it should take after we stop hearing speech to consider the input complete.
     String EXTRA_SPEECH_INPUT_MINIMUM_LENGTH_MILLIS    The minimum length of an utterance.
     String EXTRA_SPEECH_INPUT_POSSIBLY_COMPLETE_SILENCE_LENGTH_MILLIS  The amount of time that it should take after we stop hearing speech to consider the input possibly complete.

http://java.llp2.dcc.ufmg.br/apiminer/docs/reference/android/speech/RecognizerIntent.html

These are the extras of the bundle class.

The problem is, when I use these constants in my code it does not work.

Here is my code:

   intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_SPEECH_INPUT_MINIMUM_LENGTH_MILLIS, 5000);
   intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_SPEECH_INPUT_COMPLETE_SILENCE_LENGTH_MILLIS, 5000);
   intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_SPEECH_INPUT_POSSIBLY_COMPLETE_SILENCE_LENGTH_MILLIS, 5000);

The recognizer still listens me about 10 seconds, although I wrote 5000 mseconds, as you see.

Can you think of the problem? Maybe I dont know how to use extras or maybe it is about permissions and maybe it skips my code or I should add some other codes.

Any help would be appriciated.

Edit: Here is my full code:

VoiceRecognitionActivity.java

public class VoiceRecognitionActivity extends Activity implements
    TextToSpeech.OnInitListener {

private static final int REQUEST_CODE = 1234;
private Button mTalkButton;
private ListView wordsList;

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_voice_recognition);
    mTalkButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.talk_button);
    wordsList = (ListView) findViewById(R.id.listView1);
    // Disable button if no recognition service is present
    PackageManager pm = getPackageManager();
    List<ResolveInfo> activities = pm.queryIntentActivities(new Intent(
            RecognizerIntent.ACTION_RECOGNIZE_SPEECH), 0);
    if (activities.size() == 0) {
        mTalkButton.setEnabled(false);
        mTalkButton.setText("Recognizer not present");
    } else {
        mTalkButton.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {

            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                Intent intent = new Intent(
                        RecognizerIntent.ACTION_RECOGNIZE_SPEECH);
                intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_LANGUAGE_MODEL,
                        RecognizerIntent.LANGUAGE_MODEL_FREE_FORM);
                intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_PROMPT,
                        "Voice recognition Demo...");
                String defaultLanguage = Locale
                        .getDefault().toString();
                intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_LANGUAGE, Locale
                        .getDefault());

                intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_SPEECH_INPUT_MINIMUM_LENGTH_MILLIS, 5000);
                intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_SPEECH_INPUT_COMPLETE_SILENCE_LENGTH_MILLIS, 5000);
                intent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_SPEECH_INPUT_POSSIBLY_COMPLETE_SILENCE_LENGTH_MILLIS, 5000);

                startActivityForResult(intent, REQUEST_CODE);

            }
        });
    }
}

/**
 * Handle the results from the voice recognition activity.
 */
@Override
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
    if (requestCode == REQUEST_CODE && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
        // Populate the wordsList with the String values the recognition
        // engine thought it heard
        ArrayList<String> matches = data
                .getStringArrayListExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_RESULTS);
        wordsList.setAdapter(new ArrayAdapter<String>(this,
                android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1, matches));
    }
    super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
    // Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.
    getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.activity_voice_recognition, menu);
    return true;
}

@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
    // Handle item selection
    switch (item.getItemId()) {
    case R.id.menu_settings:
        startActivity(new Intent(this, SettingsActivity.class));
        return true;

    default:
        return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
    }
}

@Override
public void onInit(int status) {
    // TODO Auto-generated method stub

}

}

TTSUtils.java

public class TTSUtils implements TextToSpeech.OnInitListener {

private TextToSpeech mTts;
private static TTSUtils mInstance;
private Context mContext;

public static TTSUtils getInstance(Context c) {
    if (mInstance == null) {
        mInstance = new TTSUtils(c);
    }
    return mInstance;
}

private TTSUtils(Context c) {
    mContext = c;
    mTts = new TextToSpeech(mContext, this);
    mInstance = this;
}

@Override
public void onInit(int status) {
    // TODO Auto-generated method stub

}

public void destroyTTS() {
    if (mTts != null) {
        mTts.stop();
        mTts.shutdown();
    }
}

public int setLanguage(Locale l) {
    return mTts.setLanguage(l);
}

public int speak(String s, int i, HashMap<String, String> h) {
    return mTts.speak(s, i, h);
}

}

SettingsActivity.java

public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {

/**
 * Determines whether to always show the simplified settings UI, where
 * settings are presented in a single list. When false, settings are shown
 * as a master/detail two-pane view on tablets. When true, a single pane is
 * shown on tablets.
 */

private static final boolean ALWAYS_SIMPLE_PREFS = false;

@Override
protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);

    setupSimplePreferencesScreen();
}

/**
 * Shows the simplified settings UI if the device configuration if the
 * device configuration dictates that a simplified, single-pane UI should be
 * shown.
 */
private void setupSimplePreferencesScreen() {
    if (!isSimplePreferences(this)) {
        return;
    }

    // In the simplified UI, fragments are not used at all and we instead
    // use the older PreferenceActivity APIs.

    // Add 'general' preferences.
    addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.pref_general);

    // Add 'notifications' preferences, and a corresponding header.
    PreferenceCategory fakeHeader = new PreferenceCategory(this);
    fakeHeader.setTitle(R.string.pref_header_notifications);
    getPreferenceScreen().addPreference(fakeHeader);
    addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.pref_notification);

    // Add 'data and sync' preferences, and a corresponding header.
    fakeHeader = new PreferenceCategory(this);
    fakeHeader.setTitle(R.string.pref_header_data_sync);
    getPreferenceScreen().addPreference(fakeHeader);
    addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.pref_data_sync);

    // Bind the summaries of EditText/List/Dialog/Ringtone preferences to
    // their values. When their values change, their summaries are updated
    // to reflect the new value, per the Android Design guidelines.
    bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("example_text"));
    bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("example_list"));
    bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("notifications_new_message_ringtone"));
    bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("sync_frequency"));
}

/** {@inheritDoc} */
@Override
public boolean onIsMultiPane() {
    return isXLargeTablet(this) && !isSimplePreferences(this);
}

/**
 * Helper method to determine if the device has an extra-large screen. For
 * example, 10" tablets are extra-large.
 */
private static boolean isXLargeTablet(Context context) {
    return (context.getResources().getConfiguration().screenLayout & Configuration.SCREENLAYOUT_SIZE_MASK) >= Configuration.SCREENLAYOUT_SIZE_XLARGE;
}

/**
 * Determines whether the simplified settings UI should be shown. This is
 * true if this is forced via {@link #ALWAYS_SIMPLE_PREFS}, or the device
 * doesn't have newer APIs like {@link PreferenceFragment}, or the device
 * doesn't have an extra-large screen. In these cases, a single-pane
 * "simplified" settings UI should be shown.
 */
private static boolean isSimplePreferences(Context context) {
    return ALWAYS_SIMPLE_PREFS
            || Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB
            || !isXLargeTablet(context);
}

/** {@inheritDoc} */
@Override
@TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB)
public void onBuildHeaders(List<Header> target) {
    if (!isSimplePreferences(this)) {
        loadHeadersFromResource(R.xml.pref_headers, target);
    }
}

/**
 * A preference value change listener that updates the preference's summary
 * to reflect its new value.
 */
private static Preference.OnPreferenceChangeListener sBindPreferenceSummaryToValueListener = new Preference.OnPreferenceChangeListener() {
    @Override
    public boolean onPreferenceChange(Preference preference, Object value) {
        String stringValue = value.toString();

        if (preference instanceof ListPreference) {
            // For list preferences, look up the correct display value in
            // the preference's 'entries' list.
            ListPreference listPreference = (ListPreference) preference;
            int index = listPreference.findIndexOfValue(stringValue);

            // Set the summary to reflect the new value.
            preference
                    .setSummary(index >= 0 ? listPreference.getEntries()[index]
                            : null);

        } else if (preference instanceof RingtonePreference) {
            // For ringtone preferences, look up the correct display value
            // using RingtoneManager.
            if (TextUtils.isEmpty(stringValue)) {
                // Empty values correspond to 'silent' (no ringtone).
                preference.setSummary(R.string.pref_ringtone_silent);

            } else {
                Ringtone ringtone = RingtoneManager.getRingtone(
                        preference.getContext(), Uri.parse(stringValue));

                if (ringtone == null) {
                    // Clear the summary if there was a lookup error.
                    preference.setSummary(null);
                } else {
                    // Set the summary to reflect the new ringtone display
                    // name.
                    String name = ringtone
                            .getTitle(preference.getContext());
                    preference.setSummary(name);
                }
            }

        } else {
            // For all other preferences, set the summary to the value's
            // simple string representation.
            preference.setSummary(stringValue);
        }
        return true;
    }
};

/**
 * Binds a preference's summary to its value. More specifically, when the
 * preference's value is changed, its summary (line of text below the
 * preference title) is updated to reflect the value. The summary is also
 * immediately updated upon calling this method. The exact display format is
 * dependent on the type of preference.
 * 
 * @see #sBindPreferenceSummaryToValueListener
 */
private static void bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(Preference preference) {
    // Set the listener to watch for value changes.
    preference
            .setOnPreferenceChangeListener(sBindPreferenceSummaryToValueListener);

    // Trigger the listener immediately with the preference's
    // current value.
    sBindPreferenceSummaryToValueListener.onPreferenceChange(
            preference,
            PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(
                    preference.getContext()).getString(preference.getKey(),
                    ""));
}

/**
 * This fragment shows general preferences only. It is used when the
 * activity is showing a two-pane settings UI.
 */
@TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB)
public static class GeneralPreferenceFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.pref_general);

        // Bind the summaries of EditText/List/Dialog/Ringtone preferences
        // to their values. When their values change, their summaries are
        // updated to reflect the new value, per the Android Design
        // guidelines.
        bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("example_text"));
        bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("example_list"));
    }
}

/**
 * This fragment shows notification preferences only. It is used when the
 * activity is showing a two-pane settings UI.
 */
@TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB)
public static class NotificationPreferenceFragment extends
        PreferenceFragment {
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.pref_notification);

        // Bind the summaries of EditText/List/Dialog/Ringtone preferences
        // to their values. When their values change, their summaries are
        // updated to reflect the new value, per the Android Design
        // guidelines.
        bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("notifications_new_message_ringtone"));
    }
}

/**
 * This fragment shows data and sync preferences only. It is used when the
 * activity is showing a two-pane settings UI.
 */
@TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB)
public static class DataSyncPreferenceFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.pref_data_sync);

        // Bind the summaries of EditText/List/Dialog/Ringtone preferences
        // to their values. When their values change, their summaries are
        // updated to reflect the new value, per the Android Design
        // guidelines.
        bindPreferenceSummaryToValue(findPreference("sync_frequency"));
    }
}

}

Answer 1

These parameters stopped working for Jelly Bean devices in a recent Google Search update. I've been meaning to file a bug report about if for a while. They still work for ICS devices and below.

If you want to continue to listen for a keyword without it timing out, you'll have to perform a loop, whereby you check for the keyword in onPartialResults. If Results is called and the keyword is not detected in those either, you need to immediately restart the recognition.

You'll need to handle the silent death bug and mute the system audio stream to prevent the Jelly Bean beep sound.

Those issues make the implementation very messy and frustrating. Sort it out Google....