Adding Alexa API into a MOSHI Talking Alarm Clock

Most of the time I'm frustrated by my mother's need to save EVERYTHING, but today I was pleasantly surprised when she asked me if I wanted this old MOSHI talking alarm clock from eight years ago. Obviously I said yes! I remember this thing being so AWESOME when it first came out, and annoying, but mostly awesome. Now that Amazon has released it's Alexa API, I want to try to integrate Alexa into this little alarm clock and see what comes of it!

Now, I'm just beginning this project and I will update as I make progress. Right now the gears are just turning and I am going to sit and use the Moshi for a couple days to remember how it works. In the meantime, here is a video of the clock for those of you who don't remember when the future of always-listening voice tech arrived eight years ago!

What is Inside MOSHI?

Before I figure out what to even do with MOSHI I figured I may as well tear it down and see what was inside.

As you can see in the images below, the bottom of the MOSHI has two exposed phillips head screws, and four additonal phillips head screws underneath the rubber stoppers. I pried the stoppers off easily with a small flathead screwdriver to remove the bottom covering.

I was treated to a fun surprise when I opened the battery compartment... totally corroded, so probably not going to be able to integrate that without replacing it, or some serious cleaning. That will happen to electronics that sit in East coast basements.

Inside there appear to be two main PCB Boards. The top one appears to control the display. The bottom one is hardwired to the analog switches and buttons for adjusting the clock setting and thermometer settings. There is a sensor just below the display, if I remember correctly that is the light sensor (or maybe the thermometer?). The thermometer may also be that small item wired over on the left. You can also see the speaker wiring.

Now that I have torn this apart I can think more concretely about what I would like to do with this thing. Originally I was thinking it would be nice to activate Alexa by tapping the screen back, which wouldnt't be terribly difficult to do, but now I want to keep an open mind in case any other inspiration strikes.