Set Up Hardware and Network Access

AI-generated Key Takeaways

• Deprecated Library: The Google Assistant Library for Python is deprecated; use the Google Assistant Service instead.

• Hardware Requirements: You need a Raspberry Pi 3 (or above), USB microphone and speaker, and an SD card with NOOBS or Raspbian.

• Setup Process: Connect the hardware, configure network access, verify date/time settings, and optionally connect via SSH for remote access.

• Next Steps: Proceed to configure and test the audio settings for the Google Assistant.

Warning: The Google Assistant Library for Python is deprecated as of June 28th, 2019. Use the Google Assistant Service instead.

The content on this page is hardware-dependent. Please select from the following:

Raspberry Pi 3 Ubuntu Desktop Other Linux-based platforms

Before you begin, you'll need the following components:

• Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and power supply (see recommended kit)

  Note: To use a Raspberry Pi Zero (or Zero W), use the Google Assistant Service instead.

• USB microphone (see recommended)

• Speaker, preferably USB (see recommended USB or 3.5mm-jack)

• An SD card with NOOBS pre-installed. NOOBS is an OS installer that contains Raspbian by default and simplifies OS setup.

  Note: You can also download Raspbian and write it to the SD card yourself.

• You may also want to have a USB keyboard, USB mouse, and a monitor with an HDMI cable. These simplify initial hardware setup (and are required to install NOOBS).

You'll now set up the hardware and configure network access.

Connect the hardware and configure network access

1. Connect the microphone and speaker to the Raspberry Pi.
2. Insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi (with NOOBS or Raspbian with Desktop already loaded).
3. Connect a USB keyboard, USB mouse and HDMI monitor to your Raspberry Pi. If you don't have these, you can always connect to the Pi remotely.
4. Plug in an ethernet cable or connect to a Wi-Fi network.

After you configure access, you can connect to the Raspberry Pi via SSH (optional).

Configure the date and time

Check that the date and time are set correctly on the device.

date

Note: An incorrect date or time may cause SSL errors. Restart the device to automatically set the correct date and time from a time server or use the date --s=<STRING> command to set them manually.

Connect to the Raspberry Pi via SSH (Optional)

To run commands on the Raspberry Pi, you need to open the terminal on the device or use an SSH connection. You must use an SSH connection from your development machine if you do not have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse connected to the Raspberry Pi.

Make sure SSH is enabled on the Raspberry Pi.

ssh pi@raspberry-pi-ip-address

password: password-for-raspberry-pi

For example:

$ ssh pi@192.168.1.101
password: raspberry

On Raspbian, the default password for the pi user is raspberry. You should change this password immediately (run passwd in a terminal on the Pi).

Use the terminal or the SSH session you set up in this step to enter the commands in the rest of this guide. The working directory for both is /home/pi.

Next step

Configure and Test the Audio