It's been more than a year since I started learning about and making AI Speakers, and I really like the current product (firmware).

Right from the time AI began to rise, I jumped in to learn and bought components to build my own AI Speaker. But as someone who's a novice and doesn't know much about electronics or circuits, everything was quite challenging. Assembling the components was tough, and once it was done, the sound was noisy, and the recorded voice was distorted. Just that part alone took me almost a month, and at times I felt so discouraged that I almost gave up and didn't want to learn anymore.

Just then, a project called xiaozhi appeared in China with ready-built devices. I ordered a kit to try and cloned the source to continue experimenting. The results were truly beyond my expectations; everything worked very well.

From there, I started adding the features that I needed the most.

Since I often work on my computer, the first feature I thought of was a clock. And if there's a clock, there should also be a timer. After finishing the timer, I started thinking: “Oh wait, why not also add a reminder to drink water?”, since it's essentially just another form of a timer.

Next, I wanted to make my workspace more lively, so I added a feature for a changing wallpaper with over 1000+ images. Then I thought, what if I want to set a picture of my loved one, so I added the function to upload personal photos.

When I'm feeling down, I need to listen to music, so I added an online music library. Since I also dabble in cryptocurrency, I incorporated a feature to check coin prices as well.

The more I worked on it, the more features it gained, just like it is now.

The era of AI is developing very quickly, so as long as you have an idea, everything can gradually be realized. The important thing is not to get discouraged.

#aispeaker #officeai #deskclock