Want a cheap Amazon Echo? Build one with a $40 Raspberry Pi

Interested in using the Alexa voice assistant on the Amazon Echo, but you don’t want to spend $180 to do it? An Amazon employee (Amit Jotwani) recently published a guide on creating your own homemade Amazon Echo using a $40 Raspberry Pi Model 2 along with a SD card, a USB microphone and a few other inexpensive items.

Detailed on GitHub, the guide walks a user through building the hardware as well as taking a step-by-step guide through programming the software to access the Amazon Alexa interface. Optional hardware includes a WiFi Wireless Adapter (if you aren’t hard-wiring the device to your router and want to place it anywhere in your home. Of course, you will also need a USB keyboard / mouse as well as a HDMI monitor to run through the setup process.

Of course, this is somewhat more similar to the hockey puck-sized Echo Dot than the full-fledged Echo. Integrating the homemade version into a powered speaker system would be preferably for music playback. Identical to the other Echo products, Alexa will answer questions, set timers & alarms as well as play music accessible on the home’s network.

Check Out the DIY Amaozn Echo Guide on GitHub

If you are interested in reading about the differences between all of Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices, you can read a comparison of the devices here: Amazon Echo vs Amazon Tap vs Echo Dot

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