Mycroft (software)

Mycroft is a free and open-source software virtual assistant that

Mycroft
uses a natural language user interface.[2][3][4] Its code was
formerly copyleft, but is now under a permissive license.[1] It is
named after a fictional computer from 1966 science fiction novel
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.[5] Developer(s) Mycroft AI team
Repository github.com
History /MycroftAI/mycroft-
core (https://github.c
Inspiration for Mycroft came when Ryan Sipes and Joshua om/MycroftAI/mycrof
Montgomery were visiting a makerspace in Kansas City, MO, t-core)
where they came across a simple and basic intelligent virtual
Written in Python
assistant project. They were interested in the technology, but did
not like its inflexibility.[6][7] Montgomery believes that the License Apache License[1]
burgeoning industry of intelligent personal assistance poses Website mycroft.ai (https://m
privacy concerns for users and has promised that Mycroft will ycroft.ai/)
protect privacy through its open source machine learning
platform.[8]

Mycroft AI, Inc., has won several awards including the prestigious Techweek's KC Launch competition in
2016.[9] They were part of the Sprint Accelerator 2016 class in Kansas City and joined 500 Startups Batch
20 in February 2017.[10][11] The company accepted a strategic investment from Jaguar Land Rover during
this same time period.[12] 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.[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 is partnering 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 is 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 is also working on and selling 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 most recent hardware project is the Mark II, intended for general usage, not
just for developers. Unlike the Mark I, the Mark II is equipped with a screen,
being able to relay information both visually as well as 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 Prototype of the
goal. Mark II shipping started to crowdfunders in the end of 2022. In February Mycroft Mark II voice
2023, a post on the Kickstarter page announced that they "will not be able to assistant
fulfill any remaining Mark II rewards", however they "will still be shipping all
orders that are made through the Mycroft website".[23]

Partnerships
Mycroft has 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
Free and open-
source software
portal

Amazon Alexa
Cortana
Google Assistant
Siri

References
1. "Having the Right license is just as important as having a License" (https://mycroft.ai/blog/rig
ht-license/). 28 June 2017.
2. Bhartiya, Swapnil (25 December 2015). "2015's most exciting Linux devices" (https://www.ci
o.com/article/3017983/linux/2015s-most-exciting-linux-devices.html#slide2). CIO magazine.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180626234543/https://www.cio.com/article/301798
3/linux/2015s-most-exciting-linux-devices.html#slide2) from the original on 26 June 2018.
Retrieved 17 March 2017.
3. Hunckler, Matt (25 July 2017). "5 Growing Artificial Intelligence Startups You Need to Know
About" (https://www.inc.com/matt-hunckler/these-5-artificial-intelligence-startups-are-trans.ht
ml). Inc.com. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
4. Hunckler, Matt (15 May 2017). "This Open-Source AI Voice Assistant Is Challenging Siri and
Alexa for Market Superiority" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthunckler/2017/05/15/this-ope
n-source-ai-voice-assistant-is-challenging-siri-and-alexa-for-market-superiority/#7cfcceba3e
c0). Forbes. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20171013014712/https://www.forbes.co
m/sites/matthunckler/2017/05/15/this-open-source-ai-voice-assistant-is-challenging-siri-and-
alexa-for-market-superiority/) from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October
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5. "Why Name it Mycroft?" (https://mycroft.ai/blog/why-name-it-mycroft/). 14 August 2015.
6. Harrington, Rebecca (1 January 2016). "Customize An Open-Source HAL For Your Home"
(https://www.popsci.com/ultimate-diy-ai). Popular Science. Archived (https://web.archive.org/
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7. Bhartiya, Swapnil (17 January 2016). "Mycroft: Linux's Own AI" (https://www.linux.com/news/
mycroft-linuxs-own-ai). Linux.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
8. Mycroft AI (2018-05-24), Mycroft StartEngine Equity Offering (https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?time_continue=5&v=NfVD_-breck), retrieved 2018-07-08
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10. Fein, John (22 February 2016). "Announcing the 2016 Class of the Sprint Accelerator
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-of-the-sprint-accelerator-powered-by-techstars/). Techstars. Archived (https://web.archive.or
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11. Lynley, Matthew (8 February 2017). "Here's the 20th batch of 500 Startups companies" (http
s://techcrunch.com/2017/02/08/heres-the-20th-batch-of-500-startups-companies/).
TechCrunch. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170930035958/https://techcrunch.co
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12. Burch, Bobby (27 February 2017). "Jaguar Land Rover invests in artificial intelligence
startup Mycroft" (http://www.startlandnews.com/2017/02/jaguar-land-rover-invests-artificial-in
telligence-startup-mycroft/). Startland News. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2018011
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13. "Mycroft AI" (https://www.startengine.com/mycroft-ai). StartEngine. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
14. "Precise Wake Word Engine" (https://github.com/MycroftAI/mycroft-precise/). GitHub. 30
March 2020.
15. Smith, Katie. "Developing an Open Source Voice Assistant: Interview with Mycroft AI's Steve
Penrod" (https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/developing-open-source-voice-assistant-int
erview-mycroft-AI-Steve-Penrod/). All About Circuits. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
16. Gold, Jon (7 January 2016). "Raspberry Pi-based home AI project open-sources key
components" (https://www.networkworld.com/article/3020009/software/raspberry-pi-based-h
ome-ai-project-open-sources-key-components.html). Network World. Archived (https://web.ar
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17. Stahie, Silviu (7 January 2016). "Mycroft Releases Key AI Component as Open Source" (htt
ps://news.softpedia.com/news/mycroft-releases-key-ai-component-as-open-source-498567.
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18. MSV, Janakiram (20 August 2015). "Meet Mycroft, The Open Source Alternative To Amazon
Echo" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/janakirammsv/2015/08/20/meet-mycroft-the-open-sourc
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19. Stahie, Silviu (14 August 2015). "Mycroft Is an AI for Your Home Powered by Raspberry Pi 2
and Ubuntu Snappy" (https://news.softpedia.com/news/mycroft-is-an-ai-for-your-home-powe
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21. "Github: Mycroft Mark I hardware" (https://github.com/MycroftAI/hardware-mycroft-mark-1).
GitHub. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
22. Adair, Kris (4 April 2016). "Making a Mycroft & First Shipment" (https://mycroft.ai/blog/making
-a-mycroft/). Mycroft blog. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180627053956/https://my
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23. Dobberstein, Laura (13 February 2023). "Creator of Linux virtual assistant blames 'patent
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f/). The Register.
24. "Using Precise to Help Refugees - Mycroft Partners with WorkAround" (https://mycroft.ai/blo
g/refugees-tagging-wake-words-mycroft-workaround-partnership/). 14 May 2018. Retrieved
24 October 2018.
25. Bezner, Elyssa (18 October 2018). "Collaboration in the air: Cough detection sensors
combine Sickweather, Mycroft tech" (https://www.startlandnews.com/2018/10/cough-detectio
n/). StartlandNews. Retrieved 24 October 2018.

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