The Emic 2 Text-to-Speech Module from Grand Idea Studio and Parallax fills a niche to make it simple to convert a string of text to audible voice text. It still sounds synthesized, by hey, who’s going to believe you wedged a tiny person into your Arduinobot?

It also features a pretty comprehensive command interface to tweak how you want it to behave.

Features:

• High-quality speech synthesis for English and Spanish languages
• Nine predefined voice styles comprising male, female, and child
• Dynamic control of speech and voice characteristics, including pitch, speaking rate, and word emphasis
• Industry-standard DECtalk text-to-speech synthesizer engine (5.0.E1)

Application Ideas:

• Reading Internet-based data streams (such as e-mails or Twitter feeds)
• Conveying status or sensor results from robots, scientific equipment, or industrial machinery
• Language learning or speech aids for educational environments

Specifications:

• Single row, 6-pin, 0.1″ header for easy connection to a host system
• Power requirements: +5 VDC, 30 mA idle, 46-220 mA active (depending on speech parameters and output load)
• Communication: Asynchronous 9600 bps serial (8N1)
• Dimensions: 1.25″ W x 1.5″ L x 0.37″ H (3.17 W x 3.81 L x 0.94 H cm)
• Operating temperature: -20 to +70 °C (-4 to +158 °F)

Links:

• Grand Idea Studio‘s Emic 2 Page (this is a really comprehensive resource page for this device, including example code for Arduino, Basic Stamp, Propeller, and PIC)
• Toymkrs Video Featuring Emic-to-Speech