Voice Project — Smart Speaker & Voice Calls

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Working draft. Planning only; the hardware can be ready ahead of the VoIP plan, which is on hold until the 1023-EZ fee is funded.

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Source: the "Smart Speaker / Voice Hardware (DIY)" section of MagicJack AI Phone Line: Setup & Costs. Related: Phone Project — AI Phone Line.

Hardware

reSpeaker XVF3800 USB Mic Array ($79.90, Amazon): plugs directly into the Raspberry Pi; works with OVOS.
reSpeaker XVF3800 4-Mic Array with XIAO ESP32S3 ($84.99, Amazon): alternative with onboard processing.
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 16GB Starter Kit PRO: the host; 16GB because Asterisk and OVOS run together on the same Pi.

OVOS (OpenVoiceOS) runs on the Pi; skills are written in Python, and plugins can connect any API, including xAI/Grok.
Multi-agent wake words: say "hey" plus an agent's name ("hey Cadmus", "hey Mnemosyne") and the wake word engine routes to that agent through its API. Short wake words are harder to detect, so choose with that in mind.
Custom wake word training: OVOS ships with words like "hey Mycroft" and supports training custom ones, so "hey Cadmus" could be trained on the Pi.
Voice-initiated calls: "hey Cadmus, call [someone]" places the call through the speaker and microphone, via Grandstream HT813 → Asterisk on the Pi, with audio from the reSpeaker and the Grok bridge handling both directions.

The same Pi can host both Asterisk (VoIP) and OVOS. Voice calls depend on the VoIP plan being funded (1023-EZ fee still pending).

🔗 Shared voice layer: the same wake word and listener also route home commands; see the sketch on the Home Automation Project page.

Hardware prices as shown on the wishlist Oct 26, 2026, ~8:00 AM PT.

Item	Estimated cost	Source/notes
One-time hardware (wishlist): reSpeaker XVF3800 USB Mic Array	$79.90	Amazon wishlist
One-time hardware (wishlist): reSpeaker XVF3800 4-Mic Array with XIAO ESP32S3	$84.99	Amazon wishlist; alternative to the USB array
One-time hardware (wishlist): ANSTEN USB Conference Microphone	$28.99	Amazon wishlist; optional
One-time hardware (wishlist): Movo MC1000 USB Conference Microphone	$38.95	Amazon wishlist; optional
One-time hardware (wishlist): Bose SoundTouch 30 Wireless Speaker	TBD	No price shown (buying options only)
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 16GB Starter Kit PRO	—	Shared with Phone, not double-counted
One-time hardware subtotal	$232.83 + Bose (TBD)	$79.90 + $84.99 + $28.99 + $38.95. The two reSpeakers are alternatives, so the core setup is likely one array ($79.90 or $84.99).

Wishlist, not yet purchased. Prices as shown Oct 26, 2026. List: Adaptive Philosophy Foundation (Amazon)