Google Launches New AIY Voice And Vision Maker Kits Complete With Raspberry Pi Zero WH
Artificial intelligence has been around for decades, though more recently tech companies have been ramping up their efforts to bolster AI and expand the category into new fields. There is no doubt that many of tomorrow's products and services will leverage AI to some extent. In an effort to promote this way of thinking, Google this week announced updated kits for its AIY Projects initiative that now include Raspberry Pi WH hardware.
Google launched AIY Projects last year to help makers jump on the AI bandwagon, with two do-it-yourself kits that continue to see demand, especially from the STEM audience where both parents and teachers are seeing the benefit of using them as tools in the classroom. The ongoing demand is what motivated Google to launch new versions of the kits.
There are two kits to choose from—a Voice Kit that lets users build a voice controller speaker, and a Vision Kit to build a camera that learns to recognize people and objects. Both have been updated to include clearer instructions to make it easier to get started, a new app, and all the parts in the one box, including Raspberry Pi hardware.
"To make setup easier, both kits have been redesigned to work with the new Raspberry Pi Zero WH, which comes included in the box, along with the USB connector cable and pre-provisioned SD card. Now users no longer need to download the software image and can get running faster. The updated AIY Vision Kit v1.1 also includes the Raspberry Pi Camera v2," Google said.
Google also refreshed its AIY website with improved documentation, with a focus on helping younger makers jump in feet first. And on the software side of things, it introduced a companion app for Android to simplify wireless setup and configuration. Alternatively, the kits still work with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. In addition, Google is working on companion apps for iOS and Chrome.
You can find the Voice Kit for $50 and the Vision Kit for $90, both at Target.
