I recently stumbled upon an old replica cathedral radio from the 1980s at a thrift store. It was in pretty rough shape, but I saw potential in it. After picking it up, I decided to turn it into a smart speaker using a Raspberry Pi and the Google AIY Voice Kit. The goal was to integrate it with my home automation system using openHAB for voice control in the living room. The radio’s built-in speaker wasn’t half bad, so I also planned to use it for music playback.
The process started with sourcing the right components. I managed to find a Raspberry Pi 3 and the Google AIY Voice Kit at a local store, which was a relief since they weren’t readily available in my area. I was excited to dive into the setup, but I quickly realized that there wasn’t much documentation on integrating the Google AIY Voice Kit with openHAB. After some research, I found that setting up MQTT messages for custom commands seemed feasible, and using the REST API directly might work too.
I decided to document my journey and planned to share my project notes with the community. However, before I could start writing, I wanted to check if anyone else had experience with this setup. I reached out to the forum to gather insights and lessons learned, hoping to avoid common pitfalls.
This project has been a great learning experience, blending old hardware with modern technology. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes together and contributing to the community by sharing my findings. If anyone has tips or resources, I’d be happy to hear them!