Train TJBot to Read Direct Messages in Node-RED

Today we’ll train TJBot how to read direct messages from Twitter using the speak node.

Configure the speak node to speak English, enable the speaker, and add the Watson Text to Speech service credentials.

Remember to set the Speaker Device ID to the card and device number of your speaker. Run the command aplay -l to locate this if you have a USB audio adapter or USB speaker connected.

Speaking the tweet is pretty simple in Node-RED. Since the tweet is placed in the msg.payload property by the Twitter input node, the speak node plays the synthesized audio of the tweet. When a direct message is sent to the TJBot, TJBot will read the tweet and display it in the debug window.

Here’s a video of how to train TJBot to read a direct message from Twitter.

That’s it for today’s skill. What can you train TJBot to do now that it can receive and speak direct messages from Twitter?

Come back tomorrow and we’ll train TJBot to play sounds.

This post is part of a series of skills you can train TJBot to perform.