[Hardware] How to Build an Alexa Speaker with Raspberry Pi

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How to Build an Alexa Speaker with Raspberry Pi

 

In this tutorial, we’ll install Alexa Voice Service (AVS) on a Raspberry Pi 4 to essentially “make” our own Alexa speaker. We’ll nickname this project, “AlexaPi.” This project is possible thanks to the Amazon Alexa Voice Service (AVS) SDK. If you have your heart set on an Echo Show on Raspberry Pi (Alexa with a screen), we’ll cover a Raspberry Pi Alexa with a visual interface in a future article. Completing the steps in the article is a prerequisite to the AlexaPi with screen project. 

Why Build an Alexa when you could just buy one? 
If you don’t already own a Raspberry Pi, it is less expensive to buy an Amazon Echo device. As of this writing, a brand new Echo Dot sells for $24.99 on Amazon’s website which is $10 cheaper than the cheapest Raspberry Pi 4 and that’s not including the cost of other components.

The joy of AlexaPi is not the outcome, but the educational journey. You’ll get a glimpse of how Alexa works behind the scenes, and possibly spark an interest in designing your own custom device with Alexa embedded. Amazon has made this Pi project possible for the purpose of encouraging device manufacturers to embed Alexa in their products.

What is the difference between AlexaPi and Echo devices? 
AlexaPi has many of the basic features of an Echo device, but is not intended to be a replacement for purchasing an Echo device. Below are a few of the key similarities and differences between Echo and AlexaPi.

 

Smart Home devices such as TP-Link Kasa, Teckin, Avatar, and more can be controlled via your AlexaPi with the same process as an Echo device.
Alexa Skills are available on AlexaPi. For example, say, “Alexa open cat food.” This is a skill I wrote that plays the sound of opening a can of cat food.
Calling & Messaging - At the time of the writing of this article in the US, calling via AlexaPi is not supported.
What You’ll Need
Raspberry Pi 3 or Raspberry Pi 4
16GB (or larger) microSD card (see best Raspberry Pi microSD cards) with a fresh install of Raspberry Pi OS
Power supply/Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor/HDMI Cable (for your Raspberry Pi)
USB Microphone
Speaker with 3.5mm or USB connector. We’ve only tested with a 3.5mm speaker but USB should also work.
Timing: Plan for a minimum of 1 hour to complete this project. The main install step takes 30 minutes to over an hour depending on your Pi model and internet speed.

The majority of this tutorial is based on terminal commands. If you are not familiar with terminal commands on your Raspberry Pi, we highly recommend reviewing 25+ Linux Commands Raspberry Pi Users Need to Know first.  

AlexaPi Setup and Install 
1. Connect your USB microphone and speaker to your Raspberry Pi.

2. Boot your Raspberry Pi. If you don’t already have a microSD card see our article on how to set up a Raspberry Pi for the first time or how to do a headless Raspberry Pi install.