This Tutorial Makes It a Snap to Build a Google Home-Based Magic Mirror

Magic mirrors are a great way to display the weather, your calendar, and reminders in a subtle way that blends seamlessly with your decor. The concept is simple: a screen is placed behind a two-way mirror, and only the high-contrast text and graphics shine through the mirror. But, though the ideas is simple, actually building one has traditionally been complex. This tutorial from Zach at Howchoo makes the project easy, and it even integrates Google Home!

As Zach points out, the goal of this tutorial is to make it easy enough to build that anyone can do it without any special tools. The primary component is a Pi-Top CEED from ModMyPi, which can be paired with a full-size Raspberry Pi to become an all-in-one desktop computer. The Pi-Top CEED has a 14" LCD display, so it’s perfect for a magic mirror. You’ll need those, plus a Pi-Top proto board, a Google AIY Voice Kit, mouse and keyboard, and a 13"x13" two-way acrylic mirror.

Building the magic mirror is as simple as installing Raspbian, the Pi-Top software, magic mirror software, and Google AIY Voice Kit software. The Pi-Top CEED has a place specifically for placing hardware, so that’s where your proto board and Google AIY Voice Kit will go. Then just use either double-sided tape or magnets to attach the acrylic mirror to the face of the Pi-Top CEED. The final result looks fantastic, and is very functional.