Build Your Own Voice Assistant

A look at building your own Voice Assistant from KDNuggets, instructive about how relatively little it takes to set up the basics using Python.   Of course setting it in a complete ecosystem requires quite a few additional details.   Below just the intro, more at the link:

Hone your practical speech recognition application skills with this overview of building a voice assistant using Python.    By Nagesh Chauhan, Big data developer at CirrusLabs

Introduction
Who doesn't want to have the luxury to own an assistant who always listens for your call, anticipates your every need, and takes action when necessary? That luxury is now available thanks to artificial intelligence-based voice assistants.

Voice assistants come in somewhat small packages and can perform a variety of actions after hearing your command. They can turn on lights, answer questions, play music, place online orders and do all kinds of AI-based stuff.   

Voice assistants are not to be confused with virtual assistants, which are people who work remotely and can, therefore, handle all kinds of tasks. Rather, voice assistants are technology based. As voice assistants become more robust, their utility in both the personal and business realms will grow as well.

What is a Voice Assistant?

A voice assistant or intelligent personal assistant is a software agent that can perform tasks or services for an individual based on verbal commands i.e. by interpreting human speech and respond via synthesized voices. Users can ask their assistants’ questions, control home automation devices, and media playback via voice, and manage other basic tasks such as email, to-do lists, open or close any application etc with verbal commands.

Let me give you the example of Braina (Brain Artificial) which is an intelligent personal assistant, human language interface, automation and voice recognition software for Windows PC. Braina is a multi-functional AI software that allows you to interact with your computer using voice commands in most of the languages of the world. Braina also allows you to accurately convert speech to text in over 100 different languages of the world.  .... "