I’ve been searching for discussions about the hardware design choices and documentation for the new Voice Assistant hardware, but I haven’t found much information. Is the hardware design a closed-source project?
I’m particularly curious about why USB was chosen for power supply and data transfer instead of Ethernet with PoE (Power over Ethernet). Was this decision driven by cost concerns or the complexity of development?
My guess would be that, many smart home setups already include wired components (especially in houses designed with smart home in mind), so it seems to me more natural to design a wired solution. Since the device requires power anyway, it would likely be installed near a wall box, making it convenient to connect to a router or switch via PoE. Wouldn’t this approach be easier or more efficient?
I’d love to hear your thoughts or insights on this design decision!
I’m curious to know if it would work with Ethernet if connected via a USB-C Ethernet adaptor with power passthrough. I’ve just ordered one, so will test this and report back.
However, I live in an apartment so it’s not really feasible to run Ethernet everywhere I’d like, and I need wi-fi support.
Unfortunately, though, there’s a lot of interference and contention on the 2.4GHz wi-fi band so I’d much prefer if the voice assistant hardware could support 802.11ax on the 5GHz band.
I’m hoping 5GHz 802.11ax support may feature in any future “post-preview” hardware.
Details here including a link to schematics and Github for source code.
USB-C has become the defacto mass usage power connector, and the majority of home owners now live in a wireless world
There is also a law in the EU where they force mobiles and tablets to only have usb C.
All mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port. From spring 2026, the obligation will extend to laptops and other devices.
thanks for the link, previously I’ve found something similar on HA web page, but without schematics. However i was looking for discussion forum where design was discussed.
I guess I’m biased towards wired solution since I’m thinking in context of new house.
I’m aware of this and think it is a good idea, but I wounder if this regulation applies to such a device and if it wouldn’t be counter productive in this case.
_
Now that I think of it, I’m not sure if it wouldn’t be a better choice to use cheep sub 100$ android phone instead of dedicated device. At comparable cost I get same functionality (provided software functionality is there) plus room dashboard / control center.
