Project Description: Kokoro Rust

What is the project about?

Kokoro Rust is a text-to-speech (TTS) engine built in Rust, leveraging the Kokoro model, which is known for its high-quality voice synthesis. It focuses on providing extremely fast inference. It offers command-line interface and OpenAI compatible server.

What problem does it solve?

It provides a fast and efficient way to generate high-quality speech from text, potentially for applications where speed and low resource usage are critical. It simplifies the process of integrating TTS capabilities into other applications.

What are the features of the project?

• Fast Inference: The core feature is its speed, offering "insanely fast" TTS generation.
• Command-Line Interface: The koko command allows direct audio synthesis from the terminal.
• Multiple Input Methods: Supports text input directly, from files, and via streaming (stdin).
• Customizable Output: Allows specifying the output file path and name.
• Multi-lingual Support: Supports English, and partly supports Chinese, Japanese, and German.
• Style Mixing: Support mixing different voice styles.
• Streaming Mode: Supports real-time, streaming audio generation.
• OpenAI-Compatible Server: Provides an API endpoint compatible with OpenAI's TTS API, making integration with existing tools easier.
• Phonemizer Support: Integrated phonemizer, removing external dependencies.
• Docker Support: Can be easily deployed and run within Docker containers.

What are the technologies used in the project?

• Rust: The primary programming language, chosen for its performance and memory safety.
• Kokoro TTS Model: The underlying TTS model (87M parameters).
• Python: Used for initial setup scripts (fetching voice data) and example API usage.
• Espeak-ng: Used for tokenization and phonemization.
• Docker: For containerization.

What are the benefits of the project?

• Speed: Significantly faster TTS generation compared to other solutions.
• Efficiency: Uses a relatively small model, reducing resource requirements.
• Ease of Use: Simple command-line interface and API for easy integration.
• Flexibility: Supports various input and output methods.
• Extensibility: Designed to track and incorporate future updates to the Kokoro model.
• Open Source: Apache License.

What are the use cases of the project?

• Real-time applications: Situations where low-latency audio generation is needed, such as interactive voice assistants or gaming.
• Embedded systems: Due to its efficiency, it could be suitable for devices with limited resources.
• API services: The OpenAI-compatible server allows it to be used as a backend for TTS services.
• Accessibility tools: Providing high-quality voice output for screen readers or other assistive technologies.
• Content creation: Generating voiceovers for videos, podcasts, or audiobooks.
• Digital Human: Creating voice for digital human.
• AMSR: Creating AMSR audio.