Out in the Open: Build Your Own Siri With This Free Code
In the Iron Man movies, Tony Stark uses a voice-controlled computer assistant called J.A.R.V.I.S. It manages the lights and security system in his home, helps him pilot his Iron Man suits, and even assists with his research. Some of this is still very much in the realm of science fiction, but not all of it. Inspired by the Iron Man movies, two Princeton students have built a J.A.R.V.I.S. for the real world.
“That was even the initial project name — ‘J.A.R.V.I.S.’ — until we decided that it was too unoriginal,” says one of the project’s creators, Charles Marsh. Instead, they now call it Jasper.
No, Jasper isn’t as sophisticated as its science fictional inspiration. It’s more like Siri or Google Now, but instead of running on your smartphone, it operates from a small, stand-alone unit with a microphone and an internet connection. And it’s open source, meaning anyone can take the designs and build their own and modify it as need be.
