Issue 57 of The MagPi is with us, and what a bumper issue it is. It comes with the hardware for a Google-powered artificial intelligence/voice recogniser project, or AIY Project. Here’s the MagPi’s description of the contents:

Inside the magazine, you’ll find a Google Voice Hardware Accessory on Top (HAT) accessory board, a stereo microphone Voice HAT board, a large arcade button, and a selection of wires. Last, but certainly not least, you’ll find a custom cardboard case to house it all in.

You’ll need to add your own Raspberry Pi 3 (or 2 or Zero) to it. The magazine, naturally, comes with instructions on how to put the project together as well as all the great articles we’ve come to associate with the publication.

Having looked at some pictures of the contents, it’s pretty clear that the stereo microphone is an add-on and not a HAT… but let’s gloss over that. 😉

Rob Zwetsloot gives a briefing on the tech below:

What is a little disappointing is that, as a subscriber, apparently I don’t get my issue until tomorrow. This is particularly irritating as the issue is later than usual anyway. And yes, that is a whinge!

You can read more about the issue, and download a PDF of the magazine, here.

Google’s support site for the AIY Project is now up-and-running. It includes an assembly guide and diagrams. Of particular interest is the HAT diagram:

This shows a lot of the functionality built into the HAT. I’m a little unsure what Driver0-3 are for, but I’m sure some bright spark will work it out! 🙂 Also on the Google site is the downloadable OS image, based on Raspbian. There is also a GitHub repository which shows you how to include the software on your own Raspbian image. Not terribly sure why the instructions are spread all over the place, but I’m sure there must be a good reason! 😉