Furbys have been around for quite some time, the first being launched back in 1998 by Tiger Electronics. If like us you have a couple lying around gathering dust you might be interested in a new upgrade that allows you to add the Amazon Alexa personal assistant, creating a Furlexa. The process uses the awesome Raspberry Pi Zero W together with Amazon’s open-source Alexa Voice Service software as well as a few extra electrical components transforming a normal Furby into a Furby Echo. Check out the video below for a full demonstration and details on how you can create your very own.
I thought I’d make Furby a little less annoying and give him an upgrade with a real brain. Step aside, Tin Man. By combining a Raspberry Pi Zero W (a tiny computer), Amazon’s (mostly) open-source Alexa Voice Service software, and a few other electrical components, I converted my normal Furby into an Amazon Echo. It is my hope that you can either use this guide as a fun read or to build your own Furby Echo — I tried to write it in a style that any crowd would enjoy and I hope that I accomplished that goal. I created a video that demonstrates Furlexa and briefly explains what I did — the rest of the guide (below) contains more details on my build.
For a full walk-through of everything you need to convert your Furby to a Furby Echo jump over to the HowChoo website by following the link below. If you enjoy building Pi projects you might be interested in our comprehensive list of Raspberry Pi displays, HATS and small screens.
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