4 posts tagged with "echokit"

Have you ever wondered what your AI would sound like with a Southern drawl or a confident Texas accent?

Until now, these premium voices were paid add-ons — but now you can try them for free on the EchoKit web demo.

We’ve added diverse, natural accents including Southern, Asian, African-American, New York, and Texas English, bringing more authenticity and cultural depth to your conversations.

Each voice is expressive and warm, built to sound like a real person rather than a robotic assistant.

No installation or payment needed — just open the EchoKit web demo and start exploring: https://funvoice.echokit.dev/

How to Play 🎤​

1. Open https://funvoice.echokit.dev/ in your browser.
2. Choose the accent you want to try from Cowboy, Diana, Asian, Pinup, or Stateman.
3. Allow the website to access your microphone when prompted.

4. Click on Start Listening.
5. Once you see “WebSocket connected successfully”, start talking to the character — it will respond in the selected voice!
6. If you just want to listen, click Stop Listening to pause microphone input.

How Did We Make It 🎛️​

Want something truly personal?

EchoKit is an open-source voice AI agent that lets you customize every aspect of both the hardware and software stack. One of the most popular features is Voice Clone — you can even clone your own voice!

Ready to create a truly personal AI voice? Learn how to do it here: Voice Cloning Guide.

From Browser to Device​

Once you’ve experimented in the browser, you can take it even further.
EchoKit lets you play with these voices locally, on-device, even using your own voice.
Perfect for makers, educators, and AI hobbyists who want full control and real-time interaction.

🎧 Try the voices → https://funvoice.echokit.dev/
🛠️ Get your own EchoKit device → https://echokit.dev/

EchoKit — the open-source Voice AI Agent that sounds just like you.

Have any questions? Join our Discord community

We’ve just released new versions of EchoKit Server (0.1.2) and EchoKit Firmware, bringing you more natural voice interactions than before.

• EchoKit Server: https://github.com/second-state/echokit_server/
• EchoKit Firmware: https://github.com/second-state/echokit_box

Button Interrupt​

You can now interrupt EchoKit’s speech with a simple K0 button press, which are located on the left side of the EchoKit device

This makes your voice assistant feel more responsive — no need to wait until it finishes talking. Just press the button and start speaking right away!

Adjustable Volume​

Need to make EchoKit quieter? The speaker used to be so loud we couldn’t even test it at night!

You can now adjust the speaker volume directly on the device, giving you full control of your experience.

The volume buttons are located on the right side of the device:

• The top button increases the volume.
• The bottom button lowers the volume.

This makes it easy to get the perfect sound level, anytime.

🚀 How to Update​

1. Download the latest version of Firmware from our ESP32 LaunchPad.
2. Download the latest version of the server from EchoKit GitHub release page and rerun it.
3. Flash the firmware to your device.
4. Reconnect the server and device.
   • If you’re using the pre-set server provided by the EchoKit team, there’s nothing extra you need to do — the official server has already been updated to the latest version.
5. You’re ready to go — enjoy your new interactive voice experience!

Have any questions? Join our Discord community

We’re excited to share a new update — EchoKit now supports ElevenLabs, one of the most advanced voice synthesis platforms in the world. This means your EchoKit can now speak with natural, expressive, and human-like voices in multiple languages and styles.

What’s New​

With ElevenLabs integration, EchoKit users can:

• Generate lifelike speech with rich tone and emotion
• Choose from dozens of AI voices or create your own
• Support multi-language and multilingual voice output
• Combine with local AI models for smarter, private conversations

Whether you’re building a smart home assistant, a talking robot, or an AI tutor, 11labs voices make your EchoKit sound more alive and engaging.

How It Works​

Using ElevenLabs voices with EchoKit is simple! All you need to do is configure your TTS parameters in the config.toml file.

1. Get your API key from ElevenLabs.
2. Choose a voice model from ElevenLabs and note its Voice ID.
3. Update your config.toml file like this:

[tts]
platform = "Elevenlabs"
token = "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
voice = "VOICE_ID_HERE"

4. Save the file and rerun your EchoKit server.
5. Reconnect your device to the server.

Why It Matters​

EchoKit’s mission is to help everyone build and own their own AI voice agent. With the power of ElevenLabs, you can now customize the voice with ease.

Try It Today​

Update your EchoKit server to the latest version and experience the new generation of AI voice synthesis. If you haven’t tried EchoKit yet, get one now to build your own voice AI agent at home.

Artificial intelligence is no longer science fiction—it’s part of everyday life. From classrooms to workplaces, AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are being used by millions. But here’s the challenge: most people only interact with these systems as black boxes.

If we want to not just use AI, but to understand, customize, and innovate with it, we need tools that make AI tangible.

That’s why we created EchoKit — an open-source voice AI toolkit that makes learning AI as hands-on as building with LEGO.

What is EchoKit?​

EchoKit is a open-source hardware and software toolkit for building and understanding modern AI voice agents.

• Out of the box, EchoKit is a functional voice AI device—a companion you can talk to immediately.
• But its real value lies in what’s inside: a modular hardware kit, open-source firmware, and an extensible AI server that together let you learn and experiment with every layer of the system.

With EchoKit, learners and educators can:

• Explore modular hardware design, from microphones and speakers to ESP32-based processors.

• Customize firmware written in Rust and re-flash the device to change how it behaves.

• Run an AI server that connects to OpenAI, Gemini, or local open-source models for speech recognition, text generation, and voice synthesis.

• Experiment with speech-to-text (ASR), large language models (LLMs), and text-to-speech (TTS) pipelines in a real system.

• Build and integrate MCP tools (e.g., knowledge bases, search, or smart-home control) so that the AI agent can perform meaningful actions.

• Learn how voice cloning, accents, and fine-tuned TTS models work, and try personalizing your own agent’s voice.

• Set up local and private AI inference to understand how open-source models like Whisper and Llama can run on your own computer.

• Follow structured guides that gradually explain AI concepts—from neural networks and embeddings to real-time systems—while encouraging experimentation.

In other words, EchoKit is not just a gadget—it is a practical curriculum in a box, designed to bring AI education to life.

Who is it For?​

EchoKit is designed for a wide range of learners:

• Students — Gain hands-on experience with AI that goes far beyond using apps. Build systems, break them apart, and learn how they work.
• Teachers & Schools — Bring AI into the classroom with a platform that combines hardware, software, and clear documentation.
• Parents — Provide your children with a meaningful project that blends fun, creativity, and real technical skills.
• Technologists & Hobbyists — Experiment with AI voice agents as if they were Lego blocks. Modify, extend, and integrate EchoKit into your own projects.
• Entrepreneurs — Prototype AI-powered products quickly, on top of a fully customizable and open-source foundation.

Why It Matters​

According to a 2025 Pew survey, over 80% of American students already use large language models (LLMs) for schoolwork. Yet few understand how these systems actually function.

As Nvidia’s Jensen Huang put it:

“You won’t lose your job to AI—you’ll lose your job to somebody who uses AI.”

We believe the future belongs to those who don’t just use AI, but who can build and shape it. EchoKit helps bridge that gap by making AI education hands-on, practical, and open-source.

Join Us on Indiegogo​

EchoKit is more than a device—it’s a platform for learning, creating, and teaching AI in a way that is open, transparent, and fun.

We’re now in our prelaunch phase on Indiegogo. By joining, you’ll:

• Be among the first to access EchoKit when it launches.

• Receive exclusive 48% off

👉 Join our Discord server and be part of the journey to bring hands-on AI education to everyone.