alexa-pi/AlexaPi

[Enhancement] Play wake word feedback in parallel to improve Alexa responsiveness

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#279 opened on Jul 15, 2017

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 (4 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Python (1,324 stars) (402 forks)batch import
enhancementhelp wanted

Description

This is an enhancement suggestion. Currently we wait until wake work feedback (the "yes" sound) finishes then connect to AVS and then stream recorded voice. Connecting to AVS isn't always fast, can be seconds, and that causes a delay in Alexa respond - very often in my experience. Eventually, we can connect to AVS earlier and make Alexa feel more responsive. Let's start playing "yes" in parallel in another thread while connecting to AVS immediately after the wake word is detected. Then the sound playback thread needs to join back before we start recording and send speech to AVS.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
python
Domain
performance
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Python threadingaudio playbacknetwork connection to AVS
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
50
Research direction
Review the existing code for audio playback and AVS connection logic, likely in the main module or audio handling file. Identify where the wake word sound is played and where the connection to AVS is established. Look at the threading implementation to ensure safe parallel execution. Check the issue comments for any additional context or proposed solutions.