Following overwhelming popularity of the free Google AIY Projects Voice Kits we offered with issue 57, the kits are now being made and sold as standalone products.

You can pre-order AIY Projects Voice Kits in the UK for £25 from the following places:

• The Pi Hut
• Pimoroni
• ModMyPi
• RaspberryPi.dk

Or in the US from Micro Centre for $24.99.

• Micro Center

The new kits are easier to assemble than the initial freebies, thanks to a pre-assembled arcade button.

AIY Projects new kit available for pre-order

AIY Projects also features “a vastly improved API that makes it a lot easier to program” according to our own Editor, Lucy Hattersley. The new API is fully-compatible with the original AIY Projects kit.

The kit will also come with a 76‑page The MagPi Essentials book to get you started.

As Lucy puts it: “The new AIY Projects Essentials book is a brilliant introduction to voice recognition technology using Google Assistant SDK and Google Speech APIs.”

The kits are made and distributed by US retailer Micro Center, as merchandise manager Samantha Snyder explains: “Originally, we approached Google with a large order of kits to give away to our customers who purchase a Raspberry Pi 3, after the massive demand for The MagPi kit.”

“We immediately volunteered to handle manufacturing and logistics,” she adds.

You shouldn’t have to worry about the kits selling out: “as long as there is demand, we plan to keep making them,” confirms Samantha. Micro Center has “been tracking their demand closely to ensure they will stay in stock,” she tells us.

Pimoroni director Jon Williamson agrees: “Initial unit count shouldn’t be an issue … we expect to be able to get hold of as many as needed, within reason.”

Samantha also confirms that “We plan to work with Google and the Raspberry Pi Foundation to provide feedback on the kits.” The future of AIY Projects is bright.