Hi everyone, I recently setup my PicarX following the instructions online. However, when I try to run the example for testing Piper (see 15. AI Storytelling Robot with Piper and OpenAI — SunFounder PiCar-X Kit documentation ), I get the following traceback:
rene@picar:~/picar-x/example$ sudo python3 test_tts_piper.py
2026-02-01 19:54:21.671236278 [W:onnxruntime:Default, device_discovery.cc:164 DiscoverDevicesForPlatform] GPU device discovery failed: device_discovery.cc:89 ReadFileContents Failed to open file: “/sys/class/drm/card1/device/vendor”
pinctrl set 20 op dh
[‘ar_JO’, ‘ca_ES’, ‘cs_CZ’, ‘cy_GB’, ‘da_DK’, ‘de_DE’, ‘el_GR’, ‘en_GB’, ‘en_US’, ‘es_ES’, ‘es_MX’, ‘fa_IR’, ‘fi_FI’, ‘fr_FR’, ‘hu_HU’, ‘is_IS’, ‘it_IT’, ‘ka_GE’, ‘kk_KZ’, ‘lb_LU’, ‘lv_LV’, ‘ml_IN’, ‘ne_NP’, ‘nl_BE’, ‘nl_NL’, ‘no_NO’, ‘pl_PL’, ‘pt_BR’, ‘pt_PT’, ‘ro_RO’, ‘ru_RU’, ‘sk_SK’, ‘sl_SI’, ‘sr_RS’, ‘sv_SE’, ‘sw_CD’, ‘tr_TR’, ‘uk_UA’, ‘vi_VN’, ‘zh_CN’]
[]
ALSA lib pcm_asym.c:105:(_snd_pcm_asym_open) capture slave is not defined
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.front.0:CARD=0’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM front
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM cards.pcm.rear
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM cards.pcm.center_lfe
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM cards.pcm.side
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.surround51.0:CARD=0’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM surround21
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.surround51.0:CARD=0’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM surround21
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.surround40.0:CARD=0’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM surround40
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.surround51.0:CARD=0’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM surround41
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.surround51.0:CARD=0’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM surround50
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.surround51.0:CARD=0’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM surround51
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.surround71.0:CARD=0’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM surround71
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.iec958.0:CARD=0,AES0=4,AES1=130,AES2=0,AES3=2’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM iec958
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.iec958.0:CARD=0,AES0=4,AES1=130,AES2=0,AES3=2’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM spdif
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.iec958.0:CARD=0,AES0=4,AES1=130,AES2=0,AES3=2’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM spdif
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM cards.pcm.modem
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM cards.pcm.modem
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM cards.pcm.phoneline
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM cards.pcm.phoneline
Cannot connect to server socket err = No such file or directory
Cannot connect to server request channel
jack server is not running or cannot be started
JackShmReadWritePtr::~JackShmReadWritePtr - Init not done for -1, skipping unlock
JackShmReadWritePtr::~JackShmReadWritePtr - Init not done for -1, skipping unlock
Cannot connect to server socket err = No such file or directory
Cannot connect to server request channel
jack server is not running or cannot be started
JackShmReadWritePtr::~JackShmReadWritePtr - Init not done for -1, skipping unlock
JackShmReadWritePtr::~JackShmReadWritePtr - Init not done for -1, skipping unlock
ALSA lib pcm_oss.c:404:(_snd_pcm_oss_open) Cannot open device /dev/dsp
ALSA lib pcm_oss.c:404:(_snd_pcm_oss_open) Cannot open device /dev/dsp
ALSA lib pulse.c:242:(pulse_connect) PulseAudio: Unable to connect: Connection refused
ALSA lib pulse.c:242:(pulse_connect) PulseAudio: Unable to connect: Connection refused
ALSA lib pcm_a52.c:1036:(_snd_pcm_a52_open) a52 is only for playback
ALSA lib confmisc.c:1377:(snd_func_refer) Unable to find definition ‘cards.0.pcm.iec958.0:CARD=0,AES0=6,AES1=130,AES2=0,AES3=2’
ALSA lib conf.c:5205:(_snd_config_evaluate) function snd_func_refer returned error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib conf.c:5728:(snd_config_expand) Evaluate error: No such file or directory
ALSA lib pcm.c:2722:(snd_pcm_open_noupdate) Unknown PCM iec958:{AES0 0x6 AES1 0x82 AES2 0x0 AES3 0x2 CARD 0}
ALSA lib confmisc.c:160:(snd_config_get_card) Invalid field card
ALSA lib pcm_usb_stream.c:481:(_snd_pcm_usb_stream_open) Invalid card ‘card’
ALSA lib confmisc.c:160:(snd_config_get_card) Invalid field card
ALSA lib pcm_usb_stream.c:481:(_snd_pcm_usb_stream_open) Invalid card ‘card’
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:973:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) The dmix plugin supports only playback stream
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:973:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) The dmix plugin supports only playback stream
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:973:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) The dmix plugin supports only playback stream
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:1000:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
ALSA lib pcm_dmix.c:973:(snd_pcm_dmix_open) The dmix plugin supports only playback stream
Cannot connect to server socket err = No such file or directory
Cannot connect to server request channel
jack server is not running or cannot be started
JackShmReadWritePtr::~JackShmReadWritePtr - Init not done for -1, skipping unlock
JackShmReadWritePtr::~JackShmReadWritePtr - Init not done for -1, skipping unlock
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “/home/rene/picar-x/example/test_tts_piper.py”, line 15, in
tts.say**("Hello! I'm Piper TTS.")**
\~\~\~\~\~\~\~**^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.13/dist-packages/sunfounder_voice_assistant/tts/piper.py”, line 168, in say
self.stream**(text)**
\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~**^^^^^^**
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.13/dist-packages/sunfounder_voice_assistant/tts/piper.py”, line 152, in stream
for chunk in self.piper.synthesize**(text)**:
\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~**^^^^^^**
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.13/dist-packages/piper/voice.py”, line 285, in synthesize
sentence_phonemes = self.phonemize(text)
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.13/dist-packages/piper/voice.py”, line 233, in phonemize
\_ESPEAK_PHONEMIZER = EspeakPhonemizer(self.espeak_data_dir)
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.13/dist-packages/piper/phonemize_espeak.py”, line 17, in _init_
**from . import espeakbridge** # avoid circular import
**^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**
ImportError: cannot import name ‘espeakbridge’ from ‘piper’ (/usr/local/lib/python3.13/dist-packages/piper/_init_.py)
rene@picar:~/picar-x/example$
I use a Raspberry Pi 5 with Debian Trixie, which has Python version 3.13.5 by default.
Can anyone please give a hint how to fix that?
Thanks!