New Google AIY Kits Make Starting A Lot Easier

There are two things that are big in tech these days. Aside from the notch, that is. Those are DIY projects and artificial intelligence. Being a fan of both, Google found a way to combine the two to help introduce kids and adults alike to the technology and, indirectly, to Google's ecosystem. Now Google's AIY Projects, short for "AI DIY", is getting an update that makes starting much easier by combining everything you need in one, easy to setup package.

The previous AIY Kits, namely the Voice Kit and the Vision Kit, relied on the Raspberry Pi board for its brains. While cheap and available almost everywhere, it was yet another piece users had to acquire separately from the AIY kit. To lower the barrier to entry even further, the second gen kits will include everything you need, including the boards.

The kits come with the Raspberry Pi Zero WH, the variant of the smaller single-board computer (SBC) that comes with built-in Wi-Fi. Both also now come with an SD card with pre-installed software already so you won't have to download anything just to get started. The Vision Kit also comes with the necessary RPi Camera 2.

Although these kits come complete, they still have to be set up, which usually means connecting a monitor, keyboard, or mouse. However, if you already have an Android phone, you can use the new AIY companion app to setup the kits wirelessly. Companion apps for iOS and Chrome are promised to come soon.

With AI getting the spotlight in business, mobile, and everywhere, it might be beneficial to introduce the next generation to the concepts and benefits early on. Of course, AI is a complex and complicated subject, but Google's AIY kits could provide a gentler first contact with what the technology can do to make lives easier or, at the very least, more interesting.