AIY Projects 2: Google’s AIY Projects Kits get an upgrade
After the outstanding success of their AIY Projects Voice and Vision Kits, Google has announced the release of upgraded kits, complete with Raspberry Pi Zero WH, Camera Module, and preloaded SD card.
Google’s AIY Projects Kits
Google launched the AIY Projects Voice Kit last year, first as a cover gift with The MagPi magazine and later as a standalone product.
Makers needed to provide their own Raspberry Pi for the original kit. The new kits include everything you need, from Pi to SD card.
Within a DIY cardboard box, makers were able to assemble their own voice-activated AI assistant akin to the Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google’s own Google Home Assistant. The Voice Kit was an instant hit that spurred no end of maker videos and tutorials, including our own free tutorial for controlling a robot using voice commands.
Later in the year, the team followed up the success of the Voice Kit with the AIY Projects Vision Kit — the same cardboard box hosting a camera perfect for some pretty nifty image recognition projects.
For more on the AIY Voice Kit, here’s our release video hosted by the rather delightful Rob Zwetsloot.
AIY Projects 2
So what’s new with version 2 of the AIY Projects Voice Kit? The kit now includes the recently released Raspberry Pi Zero WH, our Zero W with added pre-soldered header pins for instant digital making accessibility. Purchasers of the kits will also get a micro SD card with preloaded OS to help them get started without having to set the card up themselves.
Everything you need to build your own Raspberry Pi-powered Google voice assistant
In the newly upgraded AIY Projects Vision Kit v1.2, makers are also treated to an official Raspberry Pi Camera Module v2, the latest model of our add-on camera.
“Everything you need to get started is right there in the box,” explains Billy Rutledge, Google’s Director of AIY Projects. “We knew from our research that even though makers are interested in AI, many felt that adding it to their projects was too difficult or required expensive hardware.”
Google is also hard at work producing AIY Projects companion apps for Android, iOS, and Chrome. The Android app is available now to coincide with the launch of the upgraded kits, with the other two due for release soon. The app supports wireless setup of the AIY Kit, though avid coders will still be able to hack theirs to better suit their projects.
Google has also updated the AIY Projects website with an AIY Models section highlighting a range of neural network projects for the kits.
Get your kit
The updated Voice and Vision Kits were announced last night, and in the US they are available now from Target. UK-based makers should be able to get their hands on them this summer — keep an eye on our social channels for updates and links.
21 comments
Mark Daniels
So the Pi Zero is now avialable in quantities, at least to Google?
bensimmo
Zero has been available in bulk from RPT if you ask and buy in bulk, but you need to contact them. You don’t pay the Educational price though (aka 1 per person), you might find it is more per price.
The ZeroWH this uses, you can buy in bulk from your Authorised Reseller since its launch (H = headered version).
I think Google can afford to buy in bulk ;-)
J
What is RPT? I am looking for Zero W’s in bulk.
bensimmo
RaspberryPi Trading (the commercial wing of the Foundation, the part that sells all the stuff, makes the money and gives it to the Foundation)
Search the Forum for more information :-)
Mark Daniels
Thank you, Bensimmo. I have been waiting a long time for this information. There is so much mis-information out there that it is quite difficult to get to the bit you need to know.
Obviously, Google can afford to buy in bulk. That is a given ;) My point was that it is available in bulk to them. Now I know it may be available in bulk to me, too.
liwei
The Voice Kit now use RPi0, which cannot support the hand free wake up that the RPi3 support
Dave
Why is that?
Dougie Lawson
Is there any point publishing an article for a hardware kit that’s not available in the United Kingdom?
Are there any plans to make it available here?
Kevin Hainsworth
Dougie this hardware kit is not currently available within arm’s reach of where I’m typing this so why should it be of interest to me ?
morecoffee
Appears to match their mission statement so, why not?
The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK-based charity that works to put the power of digital making into the hands of people all over the world, so they are capable of understanding and shaping our increasingly digital world, able to solve the problems that matter to them, and equipped for the jobs of the future.
Driby
I’m with Dougie on this.
RPT should have made it a condition of the supply of Raspberry Pi’s that Google make this globally available straight away.
I couldn’t work out how to get the awful Target website to ship it outside North America.
Why get us all excited but unable to purchase.
bensimmo
Having looked over the website, it seems to me (for the Voice, since the other has never landed over here yet) that they have nerfed all the nice extras, pins, Servo’s etc, from the HAT and made a compact bonnet with the microphone integrated, but you do get audio out for a Zero.
So while you get less, other than it being more compact. You pay more than the extra price of the Pi.
I hope they don’t stop Version 1 and do keep it’s development going. It’s a better HAT.
Be graet if they jsut sold the VoiceBonnet/VoiceHat’s on their own, without the other parts to bring the price down.
Don Isenstadt
I have the voice AIY kit version 1..it said I needed a pi 3 .. so will it work with a pi zeroW or a pi 2? I didn’t even think to try since I had the pi 3 and it works great..But if it would work with a pi zeroW I would solder the pins and repurpose the $30 pi 3.So has anyone tried using a lesser pi with V1?
Sérgio de Souza e Silva
Gostaria de comprar ambos os kits! o envio para o Brazil é possível?
Obrigado.
Sérgio Silva
pyocool
Hello!!
I want to know if AIY supports Korean.
BStrum
I Just completed and new Vision Kit, I like it, it worked and went together fairly easily. I also tried the original version which was a disaster!
I’ve a few of the demos and am now very intrigued.
I also built the original version of the Voice kit which was a success. Moving it over to the Pi Zero is a big plus on the new version. I may pick one up.
As an aside, Micro Center was selling the version 1 kits for less than three dollars. I am giving them away as “party favors”.
Here is my number on complaint. There are two command terminals provided. One in the tool bar one on the desk top.
The one on the desk top has the path st for the AI libs and so the demos work as published the tool bar version (same icon!!) has the expected Pi path set.
I must have wasted two hours before I figured this ou. Hey GOOGLE, how about a note on this or a different icon on the desk top.
I have both devices set up headless. I think this is the wasy to go.
Next step on the Vision is to get smart on Tensorflow and the APIs for writing apps.
Paul Woodard
Wow, you got the Voice V1 to work! I’ve spent a good 6 hours trying different things with the latest google image (aiyprojects-2018-04-13.img) and getting 404’s and 403’s, finding conflicting directions as to what to name the credential file. I don’t think anyone at Google ever tested the latest release with a V1 kit, so you might want to warn all those people you are handing the kits out to.
Andrew
UK company releasing in US first…Hmmmmmm seems the UK has to wait for things as always even from a HOME GROWN COMPANY……………….POOR SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Raspberry Pi Staff Simon Long
This is a Google product which happens to use Raspberry Pi, not a product from Raspberry Pi, and the last time I checked, Google were a US company.
Yoshio Takano
Where can I download the SD card image of the voice AIY kit version 2? Because I had AIY V1 HW and RP Zero and try to run v2 on them!
Mr Moke
AIY Voice Kit image can be downloaded here :- https://aiyprojects.withgoogle.com/voice-v1/
The V2 kit should come with a preloaded SD Card.