Were You wondering how to make Your replica talk? Here's how:
You need: A laptop or a good palmtop with sounds and phrases loaded on them.
What You do: Take out the car's radio and take the wires to the speakers. You might need to make them longer. Attach the wires to Your laptop/palmtop. Choose the phrase or sound and play it!
You can always play TKR techie, record some things for your "AI" to say on ole fashioned audio tape and plug it into your car's cassette player. (Presuming that you still have one of those.)
There is a site, Knight Dreams I think it is called, and they sell a CD of KITT/KARR phrases. If Your replica has a CD player, it's great. But I think You could upload the phrasa onto Your computer, the one that is connected to the cars' speakers, because then it is easier to choose and play the right phrases. In besides, KITT did not have a CD player, he was a computer.
My friend Stylez came up with a much better Idea using a computer
installed in the car. But I can not give out to much details untill we are
done perfecting it..
I saw things better than my idea on the net, but this is simple and not so costly as those that respond to voice commands and can open doors etc.
Mine is just simple, and I think it is best for a exterior/facade replica. I got the idea for my KARR (ok, ok, not MINE as in registerd on me, but built for me. I had my grandfather buy a 1983 Trans Am with options true to the series and if it will need a repaint, the replica will be built. If not, the TA will stay as it is...WAAAH!)
If you have a cd burner on your computer why dont you just burn it to a cd or record it to a cassette but you will need a wire with two a/v with a headphone plug. You then plug the headphone plug into the computer and the a/v wires into a stereo with a/v inputs. You then press record and play on the stereo.
There are LOTS of different ways to have Your replica talk. If You have one with a replica interior, You can have a special unit that is connected to the voice modulator, upper and lower consoles and the speakers. Or You can have a palmtop that controls it via infrared. There are lots of possibilities, I chose this one.
You can program a micro controler similar to those which are used for phoning in cars. You put the mirophone and a speaker somewhere in the car. Then you program your mobile phone to respond to one of your words. You say:Phone! then the voice says: Say a name! then you say Dave and it dials daves phone number (which you have to program in your mobile phone.)
You can program the micro controler to a dialog like this:
You: KITT!
car: Yes Michael
you: Do you know...
But you must say the word you programed exacly the way you said it before.
i say a good AI on your laptop, kiit's voice simulated in an actual speech synthesis program, combine those with voice recognition and you have a very well done talking replica.
not to mention a couple car alarms have been made where a pa speaker under the hood can play anything and can even be used with a microphone inside the car as a pa system.
now all thats needed is for it to be able to control stiff like doors, starter, etc.
I've yet to hear a good voice synthe that could reproduce KITT's voice.
Granted, with some good WAV/MP3 samples of things KITT has said and a good voice recognition program, you could pull off some pre-scripted conversations.
JUST BE CAREFUL. You don't want to be playing around with your "interactive KITT voice" PC while driving. Now, that could be ultra dangerous, if done wrong.
HA! With a something like SKAR that You can also put things into the database so they can learn, just give it a voice recognition program and a voice. KITT's voice shouldn't be a problem for a proffesional to get it from the series and turn it into a read-all voice (like the Microsoft one, Sam, who reads basically anything) and with that You can amaze. From now on, You can have a conversation with Your car. Your car can tell You anything You program it with, just like SKAR told me that George Bush is the 43rd president of The United States of America. I hope that a SKAR-like program will be available to download or buy, because it's great, except sometimes it doesn't get what You tell it.
