Pico Voice Porcupine (Alternative)

Overview

Commercial wake word engine with free tier.

Pros

• Very accurate detection
• Train custom wake words in seconds (just type the phrase)
• Works on Linux, macOS, Windows, Raspberry Pi
• Multiple language support
• Built-in keywords: Alexa, Hey Google, Jarvis, etc.

Cons

• FREE TIER LIMITATION: Custom .ppn files expire every 30 days
• Requires Picovoice account and API key
• Not fully open source

Installation

pip install pvporcupine

Usage

import pvporcupine

access_key = "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY"  # From Picovoice Console
handle = pvporcupine.create(
    access_key=access_key,
    keyword_paths=['path/to/hey_lars.ppn']
)

Training Custom Wake Word

1. Sign up at https://picovoice.ai/console/
2. Go to Porcupine section
3. Type "Hey LARS"
4. Download .ppn file
5. Note: Must regenerate every 30 days on free tier

Recommendation

Use openWakeWord instead for production to avoid the 30-day expiration issue. Porcupine is good for quick prototyping.

Links

• Website: https://picovoice.ai/platform/porcupine/
• GitHub: https://github.com/Picovoice/porcupine
• PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/pvporcupine/