In this video lesson I will show you how to get the Raspberry Pi to speak to you in plain English. This is our first dabbling with AI. In earlier lessons we have discussed that one of our first objectives will be to begin to audibly interact with our project through speech. The first step will be to get the Pi to talk to us. Then in future lessons we will show how to get the Pi to listen to us.

In this lesson we demonstrated simple Text to Speech (TTS) with this code.

Remember this program requires use of the AI Educational OS we flashed in LESSON #2.

from fusion_hat.tts import Piper
tts = Piper()
tts.set_model('en_US-amy-low')
msg = "Hi, I'm piper TTS. Are you Ready to Rumble? I am here to pump you up!"
tts.say(msg, stream=False)

from fusion_hat.tts import Piper

tts = Piper()

tts.set_model('en_US-amy-low')

msg = "Hi, I'm piper TTS. Are you Ready to Rumble? I am here to pump you up!"

tts.say(msg, stream=False)

As we say in the video, the first time you run the program you will get a permission error. This is because the model folders are inside a system folder and must be created as a ‘superuser’ using ‘sudo’. As shown in the video, you need to open a terminal window, and type in these commands at the command prompt (Put them in one at a time):

sudo mkdir -p /opt/piper_models
sudo chown -R pi:pi /opt/piper_models
sudo chmod -R 755 /opt/piper_models

sudo mkdir -p /opt/piper_models

sudo chown -R pi:pi /opt/piper_models

sudo chmod -R 755 /opt/piper_models

You only need to do that one time. Next time you run the program, all will work properly.

Then, in order to hear all the different voice models Piper offers, you can run this program, and each voice will introduce itself to you.

from fusion_hat.tts import Piper
from time import sleep  # Optional: for pauses between voices
device.enable_speaker()
tts = Piper()
# Get the dictionary of available en_US models
voiceDict = tts.available_models('en_US')
print(voiceDict)
# Flatten into a single list of full model names
allVoices = []
for voice in voiceDict.values():
    for var in voice:
        allVoices.append(var)
print(allVoices) 

msg = "Hello World. This is a test message."
for voice in allVoices:
    tts.set_model(voice)  # Auto-downloads on first use
    # Create a readable voice name (remove 'en_US-' and replace '_' with space)
    speakableName = voice.replace('en_US-', '').replace('_', ' ')
    print("Switching to: " + speakableName)
    print(voice)
    sleep(5)
    # Introduction in that voice
    intro = "This is the voice " + speakableName + "."
    tts.say("Hello There" + intro)
    #tts.say(msg, stream=False)
    sleep(.1)
print("All voices demonstrated!")
for voice in allVoices:
    print(voice)

from fusion_hat.tts import Piper

from time import sleep # Optional: for pauses between voices

device.enable_speaker()

tts = Piper()

# Get the dictionary of available en_US models

voiceDict = tts.available_models('en_US')

print(voiceDict)

# Flatten into a single list of full model names

allVoices = []

for voice in voiceDict.values():

for var in voice:

allVoices.append(var)

print(allVoices)

msg = "Hello World. This is a test message."

for voice in allVoices:

tts.set_model(voice) # Auto-downloads on first use

# Create a readable voice name (remove 'en_US-' and replace '_' with space)

speakableName = voice.replace('en_US-', '').replace('_', ' ')

print("Switching to: " + speakableName)

print(voice)

sleep(5)

# Introduction in that voice

intro = "This is the voice " + speakableName + "."

tts.say("Hello There" + intro)

#tts.say(msg, stream=False)

sleep(.1)

print("All voices demonstrated!")

for voice in allVoices:

print(voice)

Remember in these early lessons we are using this circuit to demo our programs. Please leave this circuit put together.

Fusion Hat Circuit Diagram — This is the circuit we will use moving forward in the class

AI On the Edge, Tutorial

AI on the Edge LESSON 7: Homework Solution for Dimmable LED

April 18, 2026 admin

In this video lesson we present the solution to the homework assignment given in LESSON #6. Your assignment was to create a dimmable LED where the brightness of the RGB LED is controlled by the potentiometer. We are still using the schematic from our earlier project.

In this lesson, this is the code which we came up with:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
from fusion_hat.adc import ADC
from fusion_hat.pwm import PWM
from time import sleep
import math
potPin=0
myPot = ADC(0)
redPin=5
redLED=PWM(redPin)

while True:
    potVal = myPot.read()                     # 0 to 4095
    writeVal=100**(potVal/4095)-.005
    redLED.pulse_width_percent(int(writeVal))
    print(potVal,writeVal)
    sleep(0.1)

#!/usr/bin/env python3

from fusion_hat.adc import ADC

from fusion_hat.pwm import PWM

from time import sleep

import math

potPin=0

myPot = ADC(0)

redPin=5

redLED=PWM(redPin)

while True:

potVal = myPot.read() # 0 to 4095

writeVal=100**(potVal/4095)-.005

redLED.pulse_width_percent(int(writeVal))

print(potVal,writeVal)

sleep(0.1)

AI On the Edge

AI on the Edge LESSON 6: Digitial Out, Servos, Analog In and PWM on the Fusion HAT+

April 15, 2026 admin

In this video lesson we will become familiar with the FUSION AI HAT+, and we will learn how to do digital inputs and outputs, analog in readings, analog outputs, PWM and how to control servos. By the end of the lesson you should have the essentials you need to work with the Fusion HAT+. The schematic for the circuit we will be using in today’s lesson if below. We describe it in more detail in the video. The schematic is:

In the video lesson we demonstrated the following programs:

Digital output to blink an LED:

from fusion_hat.pin import Pin, Mode
import time
LEDPin=17
redLED = Pin(LEDPin,mode=Mode.OUT)
while True:
    
            redLED.high()
            time.sleep(.1)
            redLED.low()
            time.sleep(.1)

from fusion_hat.pin import Pin, Mode

import time

LEDPin=17

redLED = Pin(LEDPin,mode=Mode.OUT)

while True:

redLED.high()

time.sleep(.1)

redLED.low()

time.sleep(.1)

PWM Example to Control RGB LED Color and Brightness.

from fusion_hat.pwm import PWM
from time import sleep

redPin = 5
greenPin = 6
bluePin = 7

redLED = PWM(redPin)          
greenLED=PWM(greenPin)
blueLED=PWM(bluePin)
redLED.freq(200)
greenLED.freq(200)
blueLED.freq(200)

while True:
    for bright in range(0, 101, 1):
        redLED.pulse_width_percent(bright)
        sleep(0.01)
        print(bright)
    for bright in range(99, 0, -1):
        redLED.pulse_width_percent(bright)
        sleep(0.01)
        print(bright)

from fusion_hat.pwm import PWM

from time import sleep

redPin = 5

greenPin = 6

bluePin = 7

redLED = PWM(redPin)

greenLED=PWM(greenPin)

blueLED=PWM(bluePin)

redLED.freq(200)

greenLED.freq(200)

blueLED.freq(200)

while True:

for bright in range(0, 101, 1):

redLED.pulse_width_percent(bright)

sleep(0.01)

print(bright)

for bright in range(99, 0, -1):

redLED.pulse_width_percent(bright)

sleep(0.01)

print(bright)

Reading Analog Voltages on the Pi 5 Using the Fusion HAT+

from fusion_hat.adc import ADC
from time import sleep

potPin=0
myPot = ADC(potPin)       # A0–A3 on HAT

while True:
    analogIn = myPot.read()
    voltage=analogIn*(3.3/4095)
    print("Analog In: ",analogIn,"Voltage: ",round(voltage,2))
    sleep(0.1)

from fusion_hat.adc import ADC

from time import sleep

potPin=0

myPot = ADC(potPin) # A0–A3 on HAT

while True:

analogIn = myPot.read()

voltage=analogIn*(3.3/4095)

print("Analog In: ",analogIn,"Voltage: ",round(voltage,2))

sleep(0.1)

Controlling Servos With the Fusion AI HAT+

from fusion_hat.servo import Servo   # Import the Servo class for controlling servos
import time
# Import sleep for timing delays
panPin=2
tiltPin=3
servoPan = Servo(panPin)
servoTilt=Servo(tiltPin)
servoPan.angle(0)
servoTilt.angle(0)

from fusion_hat.servo import Servo # Import the Servo class for controlling servos

import time

# Import sleep for timing delays

panPin=2

tiltPin=3

servoPan = Servo(panPin)

servoTilt=Servo(tiltPin)

servoPan.angle(0)

servoTilt.angle(0)

AI On the Edge

AI on the Edge LESSON 5: Understanding Fusion AI Hat+ For Raspberry Pi

April 9, 2026 admin

In today’s lesson we will become familiar with the capabilities of the Fusion AI Hat+ for the Raspberry Pi. This hat will be a core part of our class moving forward. The hat makes it easy to get data from the outside world, and to control things in the outside would. We will get an understanding of the core capabilities of the board, and your homework will be to build the first circuit with the board. This schematic shows the various parts of the board:

Fusion AI Hat for Raspberry Pi Schematic

Then for the homework, we need you to go ahead and build this circuit. This circuit will allow us to learn how to make Digital Output commands, PWM commands, and how to read analog inputs.

AI On the Edge

AI on the Edge LESSON 4: Python Averaging Grades Homework Solution

April 8, 2026 admin

In this video lesson, I show you my solution to the Homework Assignment in LESSON #3. If you were not able to do the homework yourself, you can follow along in the video. Make sure you can do it on your own, without checking back to my solution. You need to understand these basics before moving on the class.

This is my homework solution.

while True:
    bucket = 0
    numGrades = int(input('How Many Grades do you Have: '))
    grades = []
    for i in range(numGrades):
        grade=int(input('Enter Your '+str(i+1)+' Grade '))
        grades.append(grade)
        print('You Entered: ',grade)
    for i in range(numGrades):
        bucket=bucket+grades[i]
    myAverage=bucket/numGrades
    print('Your Grades Are: ')
    for i in range(numGrades):
        print(grades[i])
    print('Your Average is: ',myAverage)

while True:

bucket = 0

numGrades = int(input('How Many Grades do you Have: '))

grades = []

for i in range(numGrades):

grade=int(input('Enter Your '+str(i+1)+' Grade '))

grades.append(grade)

print('You Entered: ',grade)

for i in range(numGrades):

bucket=bucket+grades[i]

myAverage=bucket/numGrades

print('Your Grades Are: ')

for i in range(numGrades):

print(grades[i])

print('Your Average is: ',myAverage)

Technology Tutorials

AI on the Edge LESSON 8: Text to Speech (TTS) on the Raspberry Pi

AI on the Edge LESSON 7: Homework Solution for Dimmable LED

AI on the Edge LESSON 6: Digitial Out, Servos, Analog In and PWM on the Fusion HAT+

AI on the Edge LESSON 5: Understanding Fusion AI Hat+ For Raspberry Pi

AI on the Edge LESSON 4: Python Averaging Grades Homework Solution

Making The World a Better Place One High Tech Project at a Time. Enjoy!