3 ms·
Ask HN: Is there any open source/open hardware Echo Dot alike?
Hi all, I wish to have my own customized smart speaker like echo dot, but fully programmable (Linux level).
For whatever reason I cannot even find any hardware alternatives, just some people who hacked the echo
Dot’s bootloaders.
If anyone know any alternative hardware and projects to create such a platform, I would be thankful for that.
- Zathu 3y agoBoombeastic Mini’s Pi case design could be an option?
- nudpiedo 3y agoCould be an option even if it is not as fancy as echo dot 4 it’s a great start.
- nativeit 3y agoThe hardware is rather straightforward, something like a Raspberry Pi with off-the-shelf mems microphone module, powered Bluetooth receiver, battery + management (if you want it portable), and potentially some UART/SPI interface for more specific sensors/comms. The software I don’t have any direct experience with, but potentially something like Ada from HomeAssistant would be functional and easy to implement/integrate. Is there a particular part of this that seems most challenging for you? Would you be interested in developing something to fill this potential gap? I’m toying with a lot of the same tech right now, I’d be glad to contribute.
- nudpiedo 3y agoVoice capture quality wouldn’t be any great from all directions as echo dots have somehow solved with multiple microphones. Also is the device facade.
- nativeit 3y agoGood point. My personal philosophy is to lean into these problems as opportunities for a DIYer. So otherwise absurd choices for a mass-produced design become the defining characteristics, like making a Bluetooth/voice assistant with a large-diaphragm condenser microphone capsule, and since it’ll need 48V for the phantom power, why not have a lovely vacuum fluorescent display and/or tube preamp between the DAC and speaker? Pile it all into custom machined aluminum chassis, and enjoy your new steampunk Nest.
- nom 3y agoI think you can use a Bluetooth conference speaker for the audio part, they now have multi mic arrangements, echo cancellation, etc.
- rogierhofboer 3y agohttps://mycroft.ai/product/mark-ii/ https://mycroft.ai/product/mark-ii/ Unfortunately it isn't going as well as they'd hoped: https://mycroft.ai/blog/update-from-the-ceo-part-1/ https://mycroft.ai/blog/update-from-the-ceo-part-1/ Or you could try reSpeaker (different options available): https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/ReSpeaker/ https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/ReSpeaker/ An older interesting comparison of mic arrays: https://medium.com/snips-ai/benchmarking-microphone-arrays-respeaker-conexant-microsemi-acuedge-matrix-creator-minidsp-950de8876fda https://medium.com/snips-ai/benchmarking-microphone-arrays-r...
- AlexITC 3y agoThis is the closest I have found, unfortunately, devices have been out of stock in many stores: https://github.com/espressif/esp-box https://github.com/espressif/esp-box
- kkielhofner 3y agoI created Willow, which uses the Espressif ESP BOX: https://github.com/toverainc/willow https://github.com/toverainc/willow