Home Assistant, a popular smart home automation platform, is receiving one of its most significant updates in years. For the first time, it is introducing voice control with the launch of the Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition, a new privacy-focused device developed by Nabu Casa.
This new voice assistant operates independently, running locally and privately without relying on cloud services or an internet connection. The open-source hardware for the voice assistant is now available for $59 and includes dual microphones to capture voice commands from anywhere in the room, as well as a powerful speaker to respond.
The Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition also features a dial with an LED light to adjust the volume and a mute switch on the side, which turns the LED red when the device is not listening.
The Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition functions similarly to an Echo speaker for Amazon Alexa or a Google Nest Audio speaker for Google Home, but it is limited to offering voice control. It does not act as a hub for connecting devices directly. Instead, it is designed to give users voice control within the Home Assistant ecosystem.
Users can activate the voice assistant with wake words such as “Okay Nabu,” “Hey Jarvis,” or “Hey Mycroft.” Currently, Home Assistant does not allow custom wake words, as it is focused on refining its existing wake words to handle a variety of accents and voice tones.
Introducing new wake words would require training the model to recognize a new term, which demands substantial hardware power and resources.
Paulus Schoutsen, founder of Home Assistant and Nabu Casa, emphasized during a live stream unveiling of the device, “We all deserve a voice assistant that doesn’t harvest our data or limit features. That’s why we’re rapidly advancing our open-source, privacy-focused voice assistant for the home.
This has led us to create high-quality hardware that can hear you from across the room while blending seamlessly into your home.” He also noted that while the device is not yet ready for every home, it will help users participate in its development and preview the future of voice assistants today.
Users can purchase the Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition, connect it to a USB-C power source, and set it up with Home Assistant’s installation wizard.
The device features a button in the center that activates the voice assistant powered by Home Assistant’s Assist. It can also be customized in Home Assistant to control devices throughout your home.
When used with Home Assistant, the Voice Preview Edition operates entirely locally, ensuring that your voice data remains within your home, without being sent to cloud servers or stored indefinitely, unlike other voice assistants.
Home Assistant also offers the option to offload audio processing to the Home Assistant Cloud, a subscription service that does not store voice recordings or use user data for training purposes.
“Our goal is ambitious: not just to match existing voice assistants, but to surpass them. We’ll support languages that big tech often ignores, while ensuring everything runs locally in your home,” Schoutsen said. “The era of open, private voice assistants begins now, and we want you to be part of it.”
As the Voice Preview Edition is not intended to function as a music speaker, it includes a 3.5mm jack for connecting to an external speaker to enhance audio output.
Home Assistant is renowned for its flexibility and customization options. As an open-source project, it has attracted tech enthusiasts and smart home aficionados who often run it on devices like Raspberry Pi.
The primary cost of using Home Assistant is the time and effort required to set it up, particularly for those unfamiliar with the platform. Once set up, Home Assistant operates locally, allowing it to function even without an internet connection.
With the addition of the Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition, users can gain voice control over their Home Assistant devices with the assurance of privacy.
Unlike smart speakers from companies like Amazon, the Voice Preview Edition does not display ads or send shopping notifications, marking a significant step into a market dominated by Google, Amazon, and Apple.
