Raspberry Pi's new Voice HAT board uses Google's AI to help you build smart gadgets

Raspberry Pi takes help of the Google AI in its new Voice HAT board

We are mobbing into such as age where top global tech firms are moving towards becoming core artificial intelligence firms. This ensures that they will be driving the future of AI on a grand scale where devices, systems and networks will be optimised to embed the AI to its core functioning for enhanced consumer experience.

Artificial intelligence still happens to be an emerging field which is up for grabs for all but some the key companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Baidu have already started to allow developers to work with AI on their systems.

Google teams up with Raspberry Pi

In a surprising turn of events Google is teaming up with Raspberry Pi in order to great a simple credit card sized computer. Together these organisation has launched an initiative called ‘Artificial Intelligence Yourself’ or AIY which an aim of infusing the natural language processing capability to the Pi computer. In order to push this ability to the PIA Voice HAT or Hardware Accessory on Top based board & speaker has been provided. Now makers will be to control their Raspberry Pi 3 device just like the new age smart device Amazon Echo and Google Home is controlled.

It is worth noting that Google has designed or developed devices specifically for the makers & hobbyists for the first time. Users will also get a microphone in AIY kit but quite unfortunately it lack support for the out-of-the box activities. Raspberry is planning to launch the HAT as an free accessory with the next edition of the MagPi. If you are wondering what is The MagPi then it is the official Magazine of Raspberry Pi.

At a price of $5.99 users will get the coveted magazine along with the HAT, speaker, cables, and a stereo microphone. Raspberry has celebrated it 5th birthday in February where it was revealed that more than 12 millions Raspberry computers has been sold on global scale. Currently Raspberry is extensively indulged in bringing heightened software improvement along with a significant boost to the low cost computer’s capabilities.

A challenge to everyone

Google has recently launched the Google Assitant SDK for the developers which will work on the phones as well as on Google Home Devices. The new HAT will work using this SDK along with the Google’s Cloud Speech API. The AIY kit to be offered to the users makes it possible to build a voice controlled speaker system using a cardboard box. Secondly users will be able to register their own natural language based voice commands in order to link-up with any number of projects created using the Raspberry Pi.


The director of the AIY projects at Google has stated that the collaboration of Google and Raspberry Pi will help in making the users comfortable and familiar with the voice interfaces. They are also working on developing new ways which will help in making use of HAT in a more interactive fashion.