Build Your Own Amazon Alexa Smart Speaker With a Raspberry Pi Suddenly, everybody’s talking to their tech. Smartphones, TVs, even lightbulbs—all capable of being controlled with a home assistant. As the Internet of Things takes over your home, you’ll find more devices are suddenly capable of responding to your voice, thanks to virtual assistants like the Amazon Alexa. Amazon has released a step-by-step guide on how to turn the $35 Raspberry Pi into a voice-controlled assistant. The instructions demonstrate how to set up the single board computer to use Amazon's Alexa Voice Service to create a low-cost alternative to the Echo, Amazon's $180 smart speaker. Like other online assistants, Amazon's Alexa responds to voice commands and can set reminders, play music, and answer simple questions. If you’ve got a spare Raspberry Pi handy, you don’t need to buy an Amazon Alexa device like the Echo or the Echo Dot, because you can build your own