Mycroft (software) explained

Mycroft
Developer:Mycroft AI team
License:Apache License[1]

Mycroft was a free and open-source software virtual assistant that uses a natural language user interface.[2] [3] [4] Its code was formerly copyleft, but is now under a permissive license.[1] It was named after a fictional computer from the 1966 science fiction novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.[5]

History

Inspiration for Mycroft came when Ryan Sipes and Joshua Montgomery were visiting a makerspace in Kansas City, MO, where they came across a simple and basic intelligent virtual assistant project. They were interested in the technology, but did not like its inflexibility.[6] [7] Montgomery believes that the burgeoning industry of intelligent personal assistance poses privacy concerns for users, and has promised that Mycroft will protect privacy through its open source machine learning platform.

Mycroft AI, Inc., has won several awards, including the prestigious Techweek's KC Launch competition in 2016.[8] They were part of the Sprint Accelerator 2016 class in Kansas City and joined 500 Startups Batch 20 in February 2017.[9] [10] The company accepted a strategic investment from Jaguar Land Rover during this same time period.[11] The company had raised more than $2.5 million from institutional investors before they opted to offer shares of the company to the public through StartEngine, an equity crowdfunding platform.[12]

In early 2023, Mycroft AI ceased development.[13]

Software

Mycroft voice stack

Mycroft provides free software for most parts of the voice stack.

Wake Word

Mycroft does Wake Word spotting, also called keyword spotting, through its Precise Wake Word engine.[14] Prior to Precise becoming the default Wake Word engine, Mycroft employed PocketSphinx. Instead of being based on phoneme recognition, Precise uses a trained recurrent neural network to distinguish between sounds which are, and which aren't Wake Words.

Speech to text

Mycroft had partnered with Mozilla's Common Voice Project to leverage their DeepSpeech speech to text software.[15]

Intent parsing

Mycroft uses an intent parser called Adapt to convert natural language into machine-readable data structures. Adapt undertakes intent parsing by matching specific keywords in an order within an utterance. They also have a parser, Padatious. Padatious, in contrast, uses example-based inference to determine intent.

Text to speech

For speech synthesis Mycroft uses Mimic, which is based on the Festival Lite speech synthesis system.[16]

Modular design and interoperability

Mycroft was designed to be modular, so users are able to change its components. For example, espeak can be used instead of Mimic.[17] [18] [19] [20]

Hardware

The Mycroft project had created smart speakers that run its software. All of its hardware is open-source, released under the CERN Open Hardware Licence.[21]

Its first hardware project was the Mark I, targeted primarily at developers. Its production was partially funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which finished successfully. Units started shipping out in April 2016.[22]

Its second hardware project is the Mark II, intended for general usage, not just for developers. Unlike the Mark I, the Mark II would be equipped with a screen, being able to relay information both visually and acoustically. As with the Mark I, the Mark II's production was partially funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which wrapped up in February 2018, hitting almost 8 times its original goal. Mark II shipping started to crowdfunders in the end of 2022. In February 2023, a post on the Kickstarter page announced that they "will not be able to fulfill any remaining Mark II rewards", however they "will still be shipping all orders that are made through the Mycroft website".[23]

Partnerships

Mycroft had undertaken several commercial collaborations. In May 2018, the company partnered with WorkAround, an impact sourcing provider who broker work opportunities for refugees, to undertake bulk machine learning training.[24] In October 2018, Mycroft collaborated with disease surveillance and forecasting company, SickWeather, to identify the frequency of coughing on public transport, funded by the City of Kansas City, Missouri.[25]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Having the Right license is just as important as having a License. 28 June 2017.
  2. Web site: 2015's most exciting Linux devices. Bhartiya. Swapnil. 25 December 2015. CIO magazine. https://web.archive.org/web/20180626234543/https://www.cio.com/article/3017983/linux/2015s-most-exciting-linux-devices.html#slide2. 26 June 2018. live. 17 March 2017.
  3. News: 5 Growing Artificial Intelligence Startups You Need to Know About. Hunckler. Matt. 25 July 2017. Inc.com. 6 October 2017.
  4. News: This Open-Source AI Voice Assistant Is Challenging Siri and Alexa for Market Superiority. Hunckler. Matt. 15 May 2017. Forbes. 6 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171013014712/https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthunckler/2017/05/15/this-open-source-ai-voice-assistant-is-challenging-siri-and-alexa-for-market-superiority/. 13 October 2017. live.
  5. Web site: Why Name it Mycroft?. 14 August 2015.
  6. Web site: Customize An Open-Source HAL For Your Home. Harrington. Rebecca. 1 January 2016. Popular Science. https://web.archive.org/web/20180627054807/https://www.popsci.com/ultimate-diy-ai. 27 June 2018. live. 17 March 2017.
  7. Web site: Mycroft: Linux's Own AI. Bhartiya. Swapnil. 17 January 2016. Linux.com. 19 April 2016.
  8. News: 2017-09-11. Alexa can you find me a better assistant? Techweek. en-US. Techweek. dead. 2018-07-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20180709011612/https://techweek.com/mycroftai/. 2018-07-09.
  9. News: Announcing the 2016 Class of the Sprint Accelerator Powered by Techstars!. Fein. John. 22 February 2016. Techstars. 29 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170930084039/https://www.techstars.com/content/blog/announcing-the-2016-class-of-the-sprint-accelerator-powered-by-techstars/. 30 September 2017. live.
  10. News: Here's the 20th batch of 500 Startups companies. Lynley. Matthew. 8 February 2017. TechCrunch. 29 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170930035958/https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/08/heres-the-20th-batch-of-500-startups-companies/. 30 September 2017. live.
  11. News: Jaguar Land Rover invests in artificial intelligence startup Mycroft. Burch. Bobby. 27 February 2017. Startland News. 29 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20180112050405/http://www.startlandnews.com/2017/02/jaguar-land-rover-invests-artificial-intelligence-startup-mycroft/. 12 January 2018. live.
  12. Web site: Mycroft AI. StartEngine. 2018-07-08.
  13. Web site: Lewis . Michael . 2023-02-01 . Update from the CEO: Part 1 . 2024-05-14 . Open Source Conversational AI Community . en-US.
  14. Web site: Precise Wake Word Engine. GitHub. 30 March 2020.
  15. Web site: Developing an Open Source Voice Assistant: Interview with Mycroft AI's Steve Penrod. All About Circuits. Katie. Smith. 24 October 2018.
  16. Web site: Raspberry Pi-based home AI project open-sources key components. Gold. Jon. 7 January 2016. Network World. https://web.archive.org/web/20180519075851/https://www.networkworld.com/article/3020009/software/raspberry-pi-based-home-ai-project-open-sources-key-components.html. 19 May 2018. dead. 17 March 2017.
  17. Web site: Mycroft Releases Key AI Component as Open Source. Stahie. Silviu. 7 January 2016. Softpedia News. https://web.archive.org/web/20180612184448/https://news.softpedia.com/news/mycroft-releases-key-ai-component-as-open-source-498567.shtml. 12 June 2018. live. 24 April 2016.
  18. Web site: Meet Mycroft, The Open Source Alternative To Amazon Echo. MSV. Janakiram. 20 August 2015. Forbes. https://web.archive.org/web/20180214073938/https://www.forbes.com/sites/janakirammsv/2015/08/20/meet-mycroft-the-open-source-alternative-to-amazon-echo/. 14 February 2018. live. 17 March 2017.
  19. Web site: Mycroft Is an AI for Your Home Powered by Raspberry Pi 2 and Ubuntu Snappy. Stahie. Silviu. 14 August 2015. Softpedia News. https://web.archive.org/web/20170606000237/https://news.softpedia.com/news/mycroft-is-an-ai-for-your-home-powered-by-raspberry-pi-2-and-ubuntu-snappy-489280.shtml. 6 June 2017. live. 17 March 2017.
  20. Web site: Meet Mycroft, an open-source smart-home AI platform. Crist. Ry. 17 August 2015. CNET. CBS Interactive. https://web.archive.org/web/20170621230847/https://www.cnet.com/products/mycroft-smart-home-ai-platform/preview/. 21 June 2017. live. 17 March 2017.
  21. Web site: Github: Mycroft Mark I hardware. GitHub. 18 March 2018.
  22. Web site: Making a Mycroft & First Shipment. Adair. Kris. 4 April 2016. Mycroft blog. https://web.archive.org/web/20180627053956/https://mycroft.ai/blog/making-a-mycroft/. 27 June 2018. live. 18 March 2018.
  23. Web site: Creator of Linux virtual assistant blames 'patent troll' for project's death. Dobberstein. Laura. 13 February 2023. The Register.
  24. Web site: Using Precise to Help Refugees - Mycroft Partners with WorkAround. 14 May 2018. 24 October 2018.
  25. Web site: Collaboration in the air: Cough detection sensors combine Sickweather, Mycroft tech. StartlandNews. 24 October 2018. Bezner. Elyssa. 18 October 2018.

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