Mycroft (software)
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Developer(s) | Mycroft AI team |
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Repository |
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License | Apache License [1] |
Website |
mycroft |
Mycroft is a free and open-source virtual assistant and knowledge navigator for Linux-based operating systems that uses a natural language user interface.[2][3][4]
History
Inspiration for Mycroft came when Ryan Sipes and Joshua Montgomery were visiting the Kansas City makerspace, where they came across a simple and basic intelligent virtual assistant project. They were interested in the technology, but did not like its inflexibility.[5][6] Montgomery believes that the burgeoning industry of intelligent personal assistance poses privacy concerns for users and has promised that Mycroft will protect privacy through its open source machine learning platform.[7] Mycroft has won several awards including the prestigious Techweek's KC Launch competition in 2016.[8] Mycroft was part of the Sprint Accelerator 2016 class in Kansas City and joined 500 Startups Batch 20 in February 2017.[9][10] The company accepted a strategic investment from Jaguar Land Rover during this same time period.[11] To date, the company has raised more than $2.5 million from institutional investors and has opted to offer shares of the company to the public through Startengine, an equity crowdfunding platform.[12] It is named after a fictional computer from 1966 science fiction novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.[13]
Structure
Mycroft uses an intent parser called Adapt to convert natural language into machine-readable data structures. For speech synthesis Mycroft uses Mimic, which is based on the Festival Lite speech synthesis system.[14] Mycroft is designed to be modular, so users are able to change its components. For example, espeak can be used instead of Mimic.[15][16][17][18]
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.[19]
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.[20]
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 will be partially funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which wrapped up in February 2018, hitting almost 8 times its original goal.[21]
Mycroft announced that a third hardware project, Mark III, will be offered through Kickstarter, and that an entire product line of Mark I, II, and III will be released to stores by November, 2019.[22]
See also
References
- ↑ https://mycroft.ai/blog/right-license/
- ↑ Bhartiya, Swapnil (25 December 2015). "2015's most exciting Linux devices". CIO magazine. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ↑ Hunckler, Matt (25 July 2017). "5 Growing Artificial Intelligence Startups You Need to Know About". Inc.com. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ↑ Hunckler, Matt (15 May 2017). "This Open-Source AI Voice Assistant Is Challenging Siri and Alexa for Market Superiority". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ↑ Harrington, Rebecca (1 January 2016). "Customize An Open-Source HAL For Your Home". Popular Science. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ↑ Bhartiya, Swapnil (17 January 2016). "Mycroft: Linux's Own AI". Linux.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
- ↑ Mycroft AI (2018-05-24), Mycroft StartEngine Equity Offering, retrieved 2018-07-08
- ↑ "Alexa can you find me a better assistant? | Techweek". Techweek. 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
- ↑ Fein, John (22 February 2016). "Announcing the 2016 Class of the Sprint Accelerator Powered by Techstars!". Techstars. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ↑ Lynley, Matthew (8 February 2017). "Here's the 20th batch of 500 Startups companies". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ↑ Burch, Bobby (27 February 2017). "Jaguar Land Rover invests in artificial intelligence startup Mycroft". Startland News. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ↑ "Mycroft AI". StartEngine. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
- ↑ https://mycroft.ai/blog/why-name-it-mycroft/
- ↑ Gold, Jon (7 January 2016). "Raspberry Pi-based home AI project open-sources key components". Network World. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ↑ Stahie, Silviu (7 January 2016). "Mycroft Releases Key AI Component as Open Source". Softpedia News. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ↑ MSV, Janakiram (20 August 2015). "Meet Mycroft, The Open Source Alternative To Amazon Echo". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ↑ Stahie, Silviu (14 August 2015). "Mycroft Is an AI for Your Home Powered by Raspberry Pi 2 and Ubuntu Snappy". Softpedia News. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ↑ Crist, Ry (17 August 2015). "Meet Mycroft, an open-source smart-home AI platform". CNET. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ↑ "Github: Mycroft Mark I hardware". GitHub. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ↑ Adair, Kris (4 April 2016). "Making a Mycroft & First Shipment". Mycroft blog. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ↑ Montgomery, Joshua (25 January 2018). "Mycroft Mark II: The Open Voice Assistant". Kickstarter. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ↑ "Mycroft AI". StartEngine. Retrieved 2018-07-08.