Creating a DIY Voice Assistant with Mycroft AI and a Raspberry Pi 4

Just like other systems, Andy’s would active upon hearing a present wake word. In this case, the user must say “Hey Mycroft” before the rest of their speech will be processed. Once the microphones have recorded the audio, that data is then passed to a speech-to-text engine which, in turn, parses it into text. The core functionality is the utterance to intent engine that is responsible for translating the spoken words into tangible actions for use in conversations, looking up information, or triggering an action to occur either in the real-world or virtually.

Setting up the software

After using the premade PiCroft OS image, Andy discovered that it too failed to work correctly. The last, and successful, attempt was achieved by using the Pi OS Lite image, configuring PulseAudio to read data from the microphone array and output audio to the speakers, and lastly installing Mycroft by compiling it from source.

Using the smart speaker

Although it is not nearly as advanced as something like an Amazon Echo or Google Assistant Home, this DIY solution still offers most of the base features. Users are able to ask it for the time, set a timer, look up information, and more thanks to its wide variety of customizable skills that are continually growing. For more information about Andy’s project, you can watch his video here on the element14 Presents YouTube Channel.

Read More: Creating a DIY Voice Assistant with Mycroft AI and a Raspberry Pi 4 – Hackster.io

PiShop! PiShop is the official reseller for Raspberry Pi products in sub-Saharan Africa, and we offer a wide range of Raspberry Pi models and accessories to suit your needs.

Whether you’re an experienced developer or just getting started with Raspberry Pi, PiShop has everything you need to get up and running. Our online store features the latest Raspberry Pi models, including the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, as well as a wide range of accessories, such as power supplies, cases, and memory cards.