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Hailo Voice Assistant Interactive Application

An interactive voice-controlled AI assistant using Hailo's Speech-to-Text and Large Language Model for real-time audio processing and conversational AI.

Prerequisites

Required: Piper TTS Model Installation

Before running the voice assistant, you must install the Piper TTS voice model.

For installation instructions, see:

The application will check for the model on startup and display an error with instructions if it's missing.

The voice assistant uses the shared voice processing module from hailo_apps.python.gen_ai_apps.gen_ai_utils.voice_processing.

Audio Setup

High-quality microphone input is crucial for optimal speech recognition performance.

For audio device configuration and troubleshooting, use the built-in tool:

hailo-audio-troubleshoot

This tool will:

  • List all available audio devices
  • Test your microphone and speakers
  • Help select and save preferred devices
  • Provide platform-specific setup instructions (Raspberry Pi, etc.)

For detailed audio setup instructions, see: Voice Processing Module Documentation

Tips for best results:

  • Use a USB microphone for better quality than built-in mics
  • Position microphone 15-30cm from your mouth
  • Minimize background noise during recording
  • Speak clearly at a normal volume

Features

  • Real-time speech processing with Hailo AI acceleration
  • Interactive voice mode - press Space to start/stop recording
  • Streaming text-to-speech - responsive audio playback with interruption support
  • Context management - maintains conversation history with clear option
  • Debug logging - detailed logging for troubleshooting (use --debug or --log-level DEBUG)
  • Low-resource mode - optional TTS disable for reduced system load

Requirements

  • Hailo AI processor and SDK
  • Python 3.10+
  • sounddevice (for audio I/O)
  • NumPy
  • Piper TTS (for voice synthesis)
  • Hailo Platform libraries

Installation

Linux

Before running this example, ensure GenAI dependencies are installed:

# From the repository root directory
pip install -e ".[gen-ai]"

Windows

Use a clean virtual environment before installing the dependencies:

py -m venv wind_venv
.\wind_venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
pip install .\hailort-<version>-cp<python>-cp<python>-win_amd64.whl

# From the repository root directory
pip install -e ".[gen-ai]"

Files

  • voice_assistant.py - Main application with terminal-based voice interface

Usage

  1. Run the application:

    python -m hailo_apps.python.gen_ai_apps.voice_assistant.voice_assistant

  2. Optional flags:

    python -m hailo_apps.python.gen_ai_apps.voice_assistant.voice_assistant --debug      # Enable debug logging
python -m hailo_apps.python.gen_ai_apps.voice_assistant.voice_assistant --no-tts     # Disable text-to-speech
python -m hailo_apps.python.gen_ai_apps.voice_assistant.voice_assistant --log-level DEBUG  # Set log level

  3. Interactive controls:

    • Press Space to start/stop recording
    • Press Q to quit the application
    • Press C to clear conversation context
    • Press X to abort generation and speech
    • Speak naturally during recording

How it works

The application uses a threaded architecture to handle:

  • Real-time audio capture and processing via VoiceInteractionManager
  • Hailo Speech-to-Text transcription
  • Large Language Model inference for responses
  • Streaming text-to-speech synthesis with interruption support
  • Non-blocking user input handling

The voice assistant can engage in natural conversations, answer questions, and provide assistance while maintaining context