Open source embedded project: Easily get started with ESP32 to build your own AI voice assistant

Want to experience the charm of AI but worry about the high technical threshold? Now, you can easily have an AI voice assistant with just an ESP32 development board! The open source project xiaozhi-esp32 encapsulates complex technologies, allowing you to learn embedded development and build your own AI applications in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.

What is xiaozhi-esp32?

xiaozhi-esp32 is an open source AI chatbot project based on ESP32. It cleverly combines cutting-edge technologies such as large language model (LLM), speech recognition (ASR), and speech synthesis (TTS) with the powerful embedded processing capabilities of ESP32, making complex AI applications within reach. You don't need to be a programming expert to create an AI partner who can listen, speak, and think!

In-depth embedded development: technical details of xiaozhi-esp32

Xiaozhi-esp32 is not just a simple software integration, it goes deep into the field of embedded development and embodies many technical highlights:

• •  The magic of ESP32:  As a low-power, high-performance MCU, ESP32 is perfectly qualified for the real-time processing needs of AI applications. Its rich interfaces support Wi-Fi and 4G network connections, making it easy to communicate with cloud servers and obtain the powerful computing power of LLM. Xiaozhi-esp32 makes full use of ESP32 resources to achieve efficient voice processing, model reasoning and user interaction.
• •  Efficient voice processing:  The project integrates the SenseVoice voice recognition engine, supports multiple languages, and has an offline voice wake-up (ESP-SR) function, which can easily wake up the device even in an offline environment to protect user privacy. Streaming voice conversation technology (WebSocket or UDP protocol) ensures the fluency and real-time nature of the conversation, just like talking to a real person.
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• •  Application of Large Language Models (LLM):  xiaozhi-esp32 supports multiple LLMs such as Qwen, DeepSeek, Doubao, etc. Users can choose the most suitable model according to their needs and experience the characteristics of different models. Through sophisticated software design, the project realizes the lightweight deployment of LLM and can run smoothly on ESP32 with limited resources.
• •  Customized personalization:  Users can create AI characters with unique personalities by configuring prompt words and timbre. This makes xiaozhi-esp32 not just a tool, but also a personalized AI assistant that can evolve according to user needs.

Hardware support and usability

xiaozhi-esp32 supports a variety of ESP32 development boards, from the common Espressif ESP32-S3 to the M5Stack CoreS3, etc. Users can choose the appropriate hardware according to their own situation. What's more surprising is that the project provides firmware that can be burned without a development environment. Even a novice in embedded development can quickly get started and easily experience the charm of AI!

Software architecture and technology selection

The project adopts modular design, which is convenient for users to understand and expand. The code specification follows the Google C++ style, which improves the readability and maintainability of the code. Through the xiaozhi.me platform, users can easily configure and manage their own AI robots and choose the appropriate LLM model.

Private deployment and scalability

Xiaozhi-esp32 adheres to the spirit of open source and adopts the MIT license, encouraging users to learn, modify and share. You can even deploy it privately, build your own AI service platform, and put your ideas into practice. For experienced developers, the project also provides rich interfaces and documentation, and supports custom function expansion. You can continuously improve and upgrade your AI assistant according to your needs.

Summarize

The xiaozhi-esp32 project is not just a simple AI chatbot, but also an excellent platform for learning embedded development and AI applications. It lowers the threshold for AI technology applications and gives more people the opportunity to experience the charm of artificial intelligence. Through this project, you can learn about speech processing, large language models, embedded systems, and other aspects, and eventually build your own intelligent voice assistant.

Project address: https://github.com/78/xiaozhi-esp32