Step 3: Set up your Environment

• Register for an Amazon Developer account.
• Install the Alexa app to register your device.
• Install Python 3.
• Install and configure the Arduino IDE.
• Download the ACK Device SDK.

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Hardware prerequisites

• A computer with a USB port and a micro-USB cable – To connect the development kit boards to your computer.
• 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi network – To register and connect the ACK module.
• An additional micro-USB cable (optional) - To debug the development board and update the ACK module firmware.

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Step 3.1: Create an Amazon developer account

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Step 3.2: Install the Alexa app

• Android – 2.2.314100.0
• iOS – 2.2.3153270.0

1. Open the Alexa app and log in.
2. Open the Menu and navigate to > Settings > General > About.
3. Verify that you have the correct minimum version of the Alexa app on your mobile device.
4. If you don’t have the required minimum version of the app, follow the instructions to download the Alexa app.

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Step 3.3: Install Python 3

Python 3.7.2 (tags/v3.7.2:9a3ffc0492, Dec 23 2018, 23:09:28) [MSC v.1916 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

Python 3.7.2 (tags/v3.7.2:9a3ffc0492, Dec 23 2018, 23:09:28) [MSC v.1916 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

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Step 3.4: Install and configure the Arduino IDE

1. On the Arduino Software page, under Download the Arduino IDE, select the appropriate installer.
2. Launch the Arduino IDE.
3. Choose the Arduino Zero board and the Programming Port in the IDE:
   1. Open the Board manager by going to Tools > Board > Boards Manager.
   2. Find the Arduino SAMD Boards (32-bits ARM Cortex-M0+) package, version 1.6.18 or later, and install it.
   3. Verify that the USB cable is connected from the Arduino Programming Port to your machine.
   4. Select Tools > Arduino SAMD Boards (32-bits ARM Cortex-M0+) Boards > Arduino Zero (Programming Port).
   5. Select the Arduino Programming Port serial connection:
      • macOS
      • Linux
      • Windows

      In the Arduino IDE, select your serial port from the Tools > Port menu. On macOS it should be something like /dev/cu.usbmodem xxxxx (Arduino/Genuino Zero (Programming Port)).Tools > Port > /dev/cu.usbmodem 14302 (Arduino/Genuino Zero (Programming Port)).If you don’t know the name of your serial port, open the Terminal application and run the following command:

      ls /dev/{tty,cu}.*
      

      In the Arduino IDE, select your serial port from the Tools > Port menu. On Linux it should be something like /dev/cu.usbmodem xxxxx (Arduino/Genuino Zero (Programming Port)).Tools > Port > /dev/cu.usbmodem (Arduino/Genuino Zero (Programming Port)).If you don’t know the name of your serial port, open the Terminal application and run the following command:

      ls /dev/{tty,cu}.*
      

      In the Arduino IDE, select your serial port in from the Tools > Port menu. On Windows, it should be something like COM4 (Arduino/Genuino Zero (Programming Port)).If you have more than one USB COM device connected and you’re not sure what port to select, navigate to the Windows desktop and right-click on My Computer, and then navigate to Properties > Hardware > Device Manager > Ports (COM & LPT). To find out what board is the Arduino Zero, you can disconnect your board and re-open the menu; the entry that disappears should be the Arduino Zero board.

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Step 3.5: Download the ACK Device SDK and run the setup script

1. Download the ACK Device SDK version 4.0 or later from the resources page of the ACK developer console.
2. Unzip the file.
3. Change directories into the unzipped folder, and use setup.py in user/platform/arduino to add the sample apps to the Arduino IDE example library.
   • macOS
   • Linux
   • Windows

   Change directories into the unzipped <ack-device-sdk>/user/platform/arduino directory. Replace /Users/username/Downloads with the path to your download location.

   cd /Users/<username>/<Downloads>/<ack-device-sdk>/user/platform/arduino
   

   Run the script:

   python3 ./setup.py
   

   You might see the following permission denied message:

   ./setup.py: Permission denied
   

   If so, specify that it’s an executable program:

   sudo chmod +x setup.py
   

   Now run your program:

   python3 ./setup.py
   

   To view the helper commands available for setup.py, include the following --help argumentpython3 ./setup.py --help

   On Linux, open a shell and then change directories into the unzipped user/platform/arduino directory. Replace $HOME/username/Downloads with the path to your download location.

   cd $HOME/<username>/<Downloads>/<ack-device-sdk>/user/platform/arduino
   

   Run the script:

   python3 ./setup.py
   

   You might see the following permission denied message:

   ./setup.py: Permission denied
   

   If so, specify that it’s an executable program:

   sudo chmod +x setup.py
   

   Now run your program:

   python3 ./setup.py
   

   To view the helper commands available for setup.py, include the following --help argumentpython3 ./setup.py --help

   Open the command prompt, and then change directories into unzipped ACK Device SDK folder > user\platform\arduino. Replace c:\downloads with the path to your download location.

   cd /d c:\downloads\<ack-device-sdk>\user\platform\arduino
   

   Run the script, using -3 as an argument to specify Python 3

   py -3 setup.py
   

   To view the helper commands available for setup.py, include the following --help argumentpy -3 user\platform\arduino\setup.py --help
4. Restart the Arduino IDE application to pick up the ACK sample applications, shown as examples in the Arduino IDE. You should now see the custom examples available in the File > Examples > Examples from Custom Libraries menu.

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Troubleshoot the setup.py script

setup.py --targetroot` <your_path\Arduino\documents>