14 DAY TRIAL // Google recently made Assistant SDK available to all, in an attempt to bring the virtual assistant to even more devices. When it was first released, Google Assistant’s main purpose was to provide a convenient way for users to interact with their phones.
Google Assistant was first featured on Pixel smartphones and it then rolled out to more devices on the market. The AI virtual assistant was incorporated in Google’s Allo, Home, and even expanded to Android Wear and a number of Android smartphones running Marshmallow and Nougat over the past few months.
Support for Android Auto and Android TV will be added soon. Google Assistant can be invoked on various devices by saying “Okay Google” or by using the dedicated physical button.
Google Assistant SDK is now available to all, allowing developers to port the virtual assistant to various devices. With this move, Google wants to make the Assistant available on multiple platforms and allow developers to incorporate it in hardware prototypes, like voice-enabled smart mirrors or self-built robots.
Google Assistant SDK features a Python open source client
Google Assistant SDK includes a gRPC API, a Python open source client for authentication and access to the API, samples and documentation. It allows developers to capture spoken queries, send them to the Google Assistant service and get an audio response. The tool is ideal for prototyping on Raspberry Pi devices, while it also adds more functionality for other platforms.
The tech giant also provides developers with samples and examples of implementation, together with a developer preview which includes features like hotword support, companion app integration, and many more. Google also set up a community for developers to discuss ideas and keep themselves up to date.
Google was initially expected to release Google Assistant SDK to developers in December last year, but at the time, the tech giant only made Actions on Google available. Although it took Google more to release the SDK, developers are now provided with all the tools that they need in order to incorporate Assistant into multiple platforms.
