HeyTeddy Is a Voice-Based Programming System for Arduino

If you’ve been working with computing devices like those made by Arduino and the like, setting up an LED to blink or integrating a simple sensor are probably old hat. On the other hand, consider if you’d never seen such a device before. Not only would you have to understand the programming concepts behind it, but hooking things up correctly is also non-trivial for beginners. In order to assist beginners on their hardware journey, researchers at KAIST University in South Korea have come up with a speech-driven programming system called “HeyTeddy.”

HeyTeddy's interface is driven by a Raspberry Pi 3 with an Amazon Echo Dot that takes in voice commands and passes them to the cloud to be interpreted. These commands are then sent to the Pi, which controls hardware on a breadboard via Firmata firmware running on an Arduino Uno.

As seen in the video below, voice input can take the form of instructions, like a request to activate a certain pin. The system is also capable of actual program construction, with debugging help, and guiding the user as he or she makes the inevitable mistakes along the way. A 7" 1024x600 screen is provided for visual feedback and customization, and when you’re done with HeyTeddy development, your code can then be exported for use on an Arduino without the supporting Pi or other hardware.

It looks like an interesting tool for getting started with physical computing, and as seen in the research paper’s feasibility study (section 5), results look promising. More specifics are found on GitHub if you’d like to build your own.