Using voice commands to control Home Assistant. Part 2

Today, we continue setting up voice control in Home Assistant. This time, we will need a small yet cheap device with a speaker and a microphone “on board.” Let’s assume all the initial settings I wrote about here have been applied.

Setting up and flashing firmware on the ATOM Echo

You will need a device which you can buy here and here, approximately, it only costs 13$.

Follow this link, and you will see the “CONNECT” button.

Connect the ATOM Echo to the computer using USB and click the “CONNECT” button.

If you haven’t downloaded the firmware for similar devices, you might not have the USB driver installed. A pop-up window will only show the standard COM-port.

Click “Cancel,” and you will see a pop-up window where you can install the USB driver.

Install the driver for CH342 devices. Only after you do so will the required port show up. Select it and click the “Connect” button.

Select “INSTALL VOICE ASSISTANT.”

The process of flashing the firmware will now start. Do not close the page while the firmware is flashing.

After the installation finishes, click “NEXT.”

You need to enter the credentials of your Wi-Fi network in the next step.

Click “ADD TO HOME ASSISTANT” to add the device. A new window should show up, advising you to add an ESPHome integration if you don’t have it yet.

After you add the device, you can choose a room or zone for the device.

The image below shows the ATOM Echo in the list of ESPhome devices.

In ESPHome, you need to “ADOPT” the ATOM Echo, after which you should update the firmware to the latest version.

You now have all the sensors and control elements in the integration. From the drop-down list, select the language model created earlier, click ATOM Echo button, and give a command to Home Assistant. Everything should work as intended.

Setting up the wake word

With the latest Home Assistant update, you can activate your “smart speaker” without physical intervention. It’s not difficult to do. Open the add-on store (or click the button below).

Install the openWakeWord add-on, and click “Start” afterward. The add-on doesn’t need setting up.

After installing the add-on, open the Integrations settings.

Go to voice assistants and click the one you want to edit.

In the pop-up window, select Wake word engine and the wake word from the list to the right. Click “Update.”

The last thing you should do is check if the wake word is on for the ATOM Echo. After you turn on “Use wake word,” your speaker will light up with a lilac color, which means it’s waiting for your voice command. Below in the drop-down list, you can select a voice assistant the device will use.

In future reviews, I will show how to make a custom wake word, so stay tuned. See you.