The Kickstarter project has been a success

Sep 10, 2015 08:52 GMT  ·  By

The Mycroft Kickstarter project has proved to be a success, and it looks like its makers even managed to get passed the first stretch goal and that means only one thing: voice control for the Linux desktop.

We've written quite a lot about Mycroft, this AI / house automation that promises to bring a lot of cool new stuff to the open source community. The project is nearing its Kickstarter campaign, and it's been a success. They even managed to get money for the first stretch goal, and that is important for Linux desktops.

Mycroft is a single device (you can place as many as you want in your house) powered by Raspberry Pi 2 and Ubuntu Core. Its appeal is the fact that it's been humanized, and it has extremely good voice control. You can think of it as a butler of some sorts that can turn your coffee maker on, lock up the house, play a movie on Netflix, or stream your favorite music. To make things better, it can be enhanced with apps.

Mycroft will change the Linux desktops

Sure enough, everyone will probably want to have at least one of these units at home, but the prospect of the technology being used in other Linux distros is just as exciting.

The first stretch goal for Mycroft was pretty clear, right from the start. "Control your Linux desktop with Mycroft. This will enable you to launch applications, control media, and change settings with your voice. We talked with the Ubuntu Team, and with their help we will ensure it is easy to enable Mycroft and use it through Unity."

In case you don't have an Ubuntu system, don't worry. Mycroft developers have already said that they intend to work with other communities as well and that other distros will be able to use.

Congratulations to the Mycroft team for their success. The first units are expected to ship in June 2016, but the software might arrive sooner than that.