Final Communication Style

The idea I have is to make Leroy try to learn English.
If there is very little noise in the room, Leroy will prompt people to come talk to him by saying "Hello? Is someone there?"
If the level of noise in the room is a comfortable level, he will use a mix of broken English and his native language.
If it is really loud, Leroy will get irritated, and yell in his language and through a little hissy fit until get people to quiet down.

Code Update

I have gotten to a point in the code where I have the number for the amplitude.
It is just a system of writing 'if' statements to trigger the different recorded audio responses.

Language Idea

While talking about my project with a friend, I thought of an idea to have Leroy speak in his native tongue. Since he is an alien from a far off planet, he has his own language that is completely different and incomprehensible to humans.
Since my original idea is to present a character as a toy for kids, I feel that this could be really successful. I remember one of my favourite toys when I was little was an alien that would "talk" when you squeezed his stomach, pause for you to respond at random intervals. Leroy could work in a similar way. Instead of just talking and stopping at random times, he could what until you stop talking to him and responds to you in his language.
What he is meaning to say is up to interpretation by the user, and having the imaginative mind of a child explore that would make for a successful project.

Code Update

I have decided to give up on the word recognition coding and move into a noise reader.
I currently have Processing code that is reading the input from a microphone and turning it into a visual audio wave.
I need to figure out how to make this visual output into an audio output and I should have the practical part of Leroy done and just left to the visual presentation of him.

Voice Recognition Software

I've been trying to play around the Voce. I've been having some problems with it so I'm still trying to troubleshoot it but might end up not using it.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/voce/
http://processing.org/discourse/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1191403856/15
http://forum.processing.org/topic/voce-library-speech-recognition
http://processing.org/discourse/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1224681162

Character Sketch

Layout Sketches

A couple sketches to show the layout/design of the interaction with Leroy (Start and Active).

How Speech Recognition Works

For reference:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/speech-recognition.htm

Milo

This is a project that is similar to my idea. However Milo has a budget and is WAY more advance than anything I could produce in one term. It isn't a little monster friend but a little boy based in reality. The way you interact with Milo is the same way I would like people to interact with Leroy.

http://youtu.be/CPIbGnBQcJY

Project Idea 2.0

As someone who has traveled a lot, I have come to face a lot of loneliness while being apart from family, friends and anything familiar. I am creating interactive virtual friend to address the theme of loneliness. I will focus on friendship and how just being with someone you know can make you happy and less lonely. My main visual component is an alien-esque being who want to be your friend that will demonstrate this concept.

Using cameras and some kind of voice recognition programming to make an interactive monster friend. His name is Leroy. During the start of the interaction, Leroy will be resting in the corner of the room. When you approach the screen Leroy will jump up from his resting position to greet you. After introducing yourself, Leroy will continue chatting with you and wait for your responses at appropriate times. He will become someone you would want to talk to and be friends with. He has outlandish stories of his home planet and always interested in what you have to say. No matter where you are, Leroy can always be there to listen to your problems and you will soon forget that he’s just a computer-generated creature.

I’ve always wanted to be able to talk and interact with the alien/monster characters I create and share them with other people. Leroy will be the first one who gets the chance to do this. Everyone will be able to share experiences with him and have him share his. He is not a Tamagachi or any other virtual pet that you may have seen before. He is on the same level as you: a friend, not a pet. You don’t feed or bathe him. He is you’re true-life virtual friend.

Changes

I've decided to change my project.
The concept will remain the same, monster friends, but it will be moved to a screen.
It will become an interactive friend. I haven't decided if he will respond to the user due to sensors or if it will be more of a digital ragdoll where the user will be able to manipulate the character.

Re-written proposal will be posted in the near future.