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Add a paragraph about why directional audio doesn't work

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Joshua Boniface 2018-03-12 20:14:52 -04:00
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@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ Once this finishes, you'll be booted into your Raspbian Stretch system complete
The [ReSpeaker library](https://github.com/respeaker/seeed-voicecard) provides the drivers and utilities for using the ReSpeaker hat with Raspbian. Note however that this library won't work on Raspbian Jessie, only Stretch, which is why we have to upgrade the Kalliope image first. Once the upgrade is finished, clone this repository into a local directory and follow the instructions provided. Verify that the driver is working by checking `arecord -L` and looking for ReSpeaker entries.
One downside is, however, that the ReSpeaker technically supports directional audio (like, e.g. the Alexa, using the mic closest to you for optimal performance). At the moment though I don't have this support in this project, because I'm making use of PulseAudio to handle the incoming audio, rather than directly interfacing with the ReSpeaker unit - this support would have to be built into Kalliope. It does work, but you don't get the directional listening that you might expect from reading the ReSpeaker page!
### ReSpeaker LEDs
The LED portion of the ReSpeaker requires a little more work. The [examples library for the 4-mic hat](https://github.com/respeaker/4mics_hat) provides all the basic tools needed to get the LEDs working, including several samples based on Google and Amazon device patterns. In my case, I went for a very simple LED feedback design: the LEDs turn on blue while listening, then quickly turn either green on a successful command, or red on a failed command, giving some sort of user feedback without having to listen to the unit try and talk!