Google releases computer vision DIY kit

Google has announced the AIY Vision Kit. Hobbyists and other technicians can connect it to a Raspberry Pi and a camera to allow the system to recognize objects and facial expressions, among other things.

The AIY Vision Kit consists of a ‘VisionBonnet’ board, a round arcade-style button, a piezo speaker, a macro lens and wide angle and connection cables. In addition, the package includes a cardboard housing for the parts. The user must purchase a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a Raspberry Pi Camera, an SD card and a power supply.

The ‘VisionBonnet’ board contains a Movidius chip from Intel for processing the neural network models. The software that Google provides can handle three models, all of which are based on Google’s TensorFlow library. One model can recognize thousands of objects, the other can distinguish faces and expressions. The third model focuses on the detection of people, dogs and cats.

Google gives examples of how an AIY Vision device can recognize plants and animals, gauge reactions from people and see who enters a room. The kit costs in the US $44.99, converted and with VAT that is 45.70 euros. Google previously released a Google Home assistant as a DIY kit in the AIY series: the Voice HAT.