Make Your Own Google Voice HAT

Video

Overview

Google made their AIY projects kit available to the Pi users for free through the MagPi Magazine Issue 57. However, since then, there has been no word yet on the retail availability of the kit. So to help out the ones without the kit and as a contribution to the Pi community, I have come up with this DIY Voice HAT.

The HAT is created using the same components found on the original AIY Projects Kit Voice HAT. By, writing the same device tree, the DIY Custom Voice Hat can be used as an alternative to the original Google Voice HAT.

Following steps to be completed on the Pi.

Clone the project onto the Pi:

git clone https://github.com/shivasiddharth/custom-voice-hat 

1. Turn on i2s support in /boot/config.txt with:

sudo nano /boot/config.txt 

Uncomment the following:

#dtparam=i2s=on 
#dtparam=i2c_arm=on 
#dtparam=spi=on 
#dtparam=audio=on  

Add the following new entry:

dtparam=i2c_vc=on

Save Exit and Reboot.

2. Check for the Hats folder:

cd /proc/device-tree/

3. Open a new terminal and change directory to eepromutils:

cd /home/pi/custom-voice-hat/eepromutils  

4. Make the EEPROM flasher executable and Flash the EEPROM with the eeprom file:

sudo chmod +x ./eepflash.sh 
sudo ./eepflash.sh -w -f=voicehat.eep -t=24c32

5. Update Raspberry Pi kernels:

sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install raspberrypi-kernel  

6. Reboot:

sudo reboot  

7. Check if your HAT is recognized:

cd /proc/device-tree/

You will have a hat folder now with voice hat details. Shutdown and wire the parts as indicated in the attached wiring diagram.

Caution: Amplifier board should be powered using 5V and the mics using 3.3V.

Executing

• Start your Pi and move into the audio configuration scripts:

cd /home/pi/custom-voice-hat/audio-config/scripts/

• Make the scripts executable:

sudo chmod +x ./custom-voice-hat.sh 
sudo chmod +x ./install-i2s.sh  

• Run the Executable scripts:

sudo ./custom-voice-hat.sh 
sudo ./install-i2s.sh  

Run the custom-voice-hat.sh script until you get .bak notification. Reboot and enjoy your HAT.