Raspberry Pi: Transform the popular single-board computer into a smart speaker with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa integration

Two projects have demonstrated how to bring Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa functionality to the Raspberry Pi. Published on Hackster.io by Shailesh Saravanan, both projects call for a USB microphone for capturing voice commands and speakers for audio playback.

Both projects use Raspbian as an OS, although the setup process for integrating Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa is different. Saravanan has published walkthroughs for both, along with screenshots at various stages of deploying and configuring the software.

Saravanan points out the so-called Alexa Pi is incompatible with Amazon Music, but it will work with other music streaming providers like Spotify. The latter is also compatible with Google Assistant. Both projects support wake words, although the process for configuring Google Assistant is lengthier.

If you have a Raspberry Pi lying around, then these projects should be a cheaper way of having a digital assistant around the house than purchasing an Echo Dot or a Nest Home Mini. You could also switch between the two digital assistants if you tire of one, which you cannot do if you purchase first-party smart speakers.