Build Your Own Voice Assistant Skill on Raspberry Pi

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Idea of a Chat Bot
3. Mycroft Ai: An Open Source Virtual Assistant
4. Setting Up Mycroft Ai on a Raspberry Pi
   1. Configuring the Pololu Maestro Board
   2. Installing Mycroft Ai on a Raspberry Pi
5. Creating Custom Skills in Mycroft Ai
   1. Creating the Robo Interact Skill
   2. Handling Blink and Wave Actions
   3. Testing the Robo Interact Skill
6. Future Possibilities: Custom Wake Words and Local Backend Servers
7. Conclusion

Introduction

In today's world, virtual assistants have become an integral part of our lives, helping us with various tasks. While there are many popular virtual assistants available, You can also Create your own personalized assistant using open-source platforms. This article explores the idea of creating a chat bot using Mycroft Ai, an open-source virtual assistant that runs on a Raspberry Pi. We will walk through the process of setting up Mycroft Ai on a Raspberry Pi, creating custom skills, and testing them. So let's dive in and bring our Own Chat bot to life!

The Idea of a Chat Bot

The concept of a chat bot is to have an interactive bot that can talk, respond, and perform various tasks Based on user commands. While there are companion bots and robots available in the market, creating a chat bot using open-source platforms gives you the freedom to customize its functionalities according to your needs. With the use of a Raspberry Pi and Mycroft Ai, we can bring our chat bot idea to reality.

Mycroft Ai: An Open Source Virtual Assistant

Mycroft Ai is an open-source virtual assistant that provides a platform to create your own customized assistant. It offers great documentation that makes it easy to hack and build upon. Mycroft Ai also provides a version specifically designed for the Raspberry Pi, making it perfect for our project. By downloading the Mycroft Ai image and setting it up on a Raspberry Pi, we can start creating our custom chat bot.

Setting Up Mycroft Ai on a Raspberry Pi

To set up Mycroft Ai on a Raspberry Pi, we first need to configure the Pololu Maestro Board and then install Mycroft Ai. Let's walk through each of these steps:

Configuring the Pololu Maestro Board

The Pololu Maestro Board makes servo control super easy and is perfect for our chat bot project. To configure it, we need to follow these steps:

1. Plug in the Pololu Maestro Board via USB to your PC.
2. Visit the Pololu Maestro Servo Controller user's guide and download the Control Center for your operating system (Windows, Linux, or Mac).
3. Install the Control Center, accepting all the defaults.
4. Open the Control Center and go to "Serial Settings".
5. Change the "Serial Mode" to "USB Dual Port" to allow communication with the Maestro Board over USB.
6. Apply the settings and close the Control Center.

Installing Mycroft Ai on a Raspberry Pi

Next, let's install Mycroft Ai on a Raspberry Pi using the pre-constructed image:

1. Download the latest Mycroft Ai Raspberry Pi image from their GitHub page.
2. Open the Raspberry Pi Imager and select the custom option.
3. Unzip the downloaded Mycroft Ai image and select it in the Raspberry Pi Imager.
4. Choose your micro SD card (at least 8GB) and proceed with the writing process.
5. Once the writing process is complete, eject the micro SD card and insert it into the Raspberry Pi.
6. Connect the necessary peripherals, such as a USB microphone and a speaker.
7. Configure the Raspberry Pi by enabling the serial ports and connecting it to the internet.
8. Reboot the Raspberry Pi and log in via SSH.
9. Access the Mycroft Command Line Interface (CLI) by running the command Mycroft CLI client.

Creating Custom Skills in Mycroft Ai

Now that we have set up Mycroft Ai on the Raspberry Pi, we can start creating our custom skills. In this section, we will focus on creating the "Robo Interact" skill, which will allow our chat bot to blink and wave. Follow these steps to create the skill:

Creating the Robo Interact Skill

1. Launch the Mycroft CLI client.
2. Use the Mycroft M.S.K. create command to create a skill template.
3. Follow the Prompts to set up information about the skill, such as the name, phrases, responses, and descriptions.
4. Customize the skill by editing the dialogue and intent files, which determine the phrases and actions that trigger the skill.
5. Import the necessary libraries, modules, and packages, such as time, raspberry pi GPIO, and the local maestro package.
6. Define the hardware setup, such as connecting an LED to a GPIO Pin and a servo to the Maestro Board.
7. Create the necessary functions to handle the desired actions, such as blinking the LED and waving the servo.
8. Test the skill by triggering the actions through voice commands.

Handling Blink and Wave Actions

In the "Robo Interact" skill, we will handle two actions: "blink" and "wave." Follow these steps to implement the actions:

1. Use conditional statements to check if the requested action is "blink" or "wave."
2. If the action is "blink," toggle the LED on and off for a certain duration to simulate blinking.
3. If the action is "wave," set the servo to the end position, which should simulate a waving motion.
4. Create a default case to handle actions that are not "blink" or "wave." Respond with a predefined message indicating that the action is not supported.

Testing the Robo Interact Skill

To test the "Robo Interact" skill, use voice commands to trigger the desired actions. For example, say, "Hey Mycroft, can you blink?" or "Hey Mycroft, give me a wave." Mycroft should respond according to the action requested and perform the corresponding hardware actions.

Future Possibilities: Custom Wake Words and Local Backend Servers

While we have successfully created a custom chat bot using Mycroft Ai, there are still some possibilities for further customization and enhancements. Two potential areas for future exploration are custom wake words and local backend servers.

Custom Wake Words

Currently, Mycroft Ai requires predefined wake words or phrases, such as "Hey Mycroft," to activate the virtual assistant. However, it'd be ideal to have the freedom to choose our own wake word, such as "Hey Robot," to make the interaction more personalized. Training custom wake words is a complex process, but with further research and experimentation, it can be achieved.

Local Backend Servers

Another direction for future development is running the backend servers locally, instead of relying on remote servers across the internet. By setting up the Mycroft backend locally, we can ensure privacy and reduce reliance on external networks. This can be achieved by deploying the necessary backend services on a local device, such as a laptop, within a secure network environment.

Conclusion

In this article, we explored the idea of creating a chat bot using Mycroft Ai on a Raspberry Pi. We learned how to set up Mycroft Ai, configure the hardware, and create custom skills. With Mycroft Ai's open-source platform, the possibilities for creating unique and personalized virtual assistants are endless. By further exploring custom wake words and local backend servers, we can enhance the capabilities and privacy of our chat bot. So let's Continue hacking and embrace the world of personalized virtual assistants!