# Wake-Word Engine Evaluation

This document outlines the evaluation of wake-word engines for the Atlas project, as described in TICKET-005.

## Comparison Matrix

| Feature                        | openWakeWord                                                              | Porcupine (Picovoice)                                                     |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Licensing**                  | Apache 2.0 (Free for commercial use)                                      | Commercial license required for most use cases, with a limited free tier. |
| **Custom Wake-Word**           | Yes, supports training custom wake-words.                                 | Yes, via the Picovoice Console, but limited in the free tier.             |
| **Hardware Compatibility**     | Runs on Linux, Raspberry Pi, etc. Models might be large for MCUs.       | Wide platform support, including constrained hardware and microcontrollers. |
| **Performance/Resource Usage** | Good performance, can run on a single core of a Raspberry Pi 3.           | Highly optimized for low-resource environments.                             |
| **Accuracy**                   | Good accuracy, but some users report mixed results.                       | Generally considered very accurate and reliable.                            |
| **Language Support**           | Primarily English.                                                        | Supports multiple languages.                                              |

## Recommendation

Based on the comparison, **openWakeWord** is the recommended wake-word engine for the Atlas project.

**Rationale:**

- **Licensing:** The Apache 2.0 license allows for free commercial use, which is a significant advantage for the project.
- **Custom Wake-Word:** The ability to train a custom "Hey Atlas" wake-word is a key requirement, and openWakeWord provides this capability without the restrictions of a commercial license.
- **Hardware:** The target hardware (Linux box/Pi/NUC) is more than capable of running openWakeWord.
- **Performance:** While Porcupine may have a slight edge in performance on very constrained devices, openWakeWord's performance is sufficient for our needs.

The main risk with openWakeWord is the potential for lower accuracy compared to a commercial solution like Porcupine. However, given the open-source nature of the project, we can fine-tune the model and contribute improvements if needed. This aligns well with the project's overall philosophy.