I Built an AI Desk Buddy with ESP32 (Xiaozhi + Custom Face UI)

In this video, I build a fully working AI desk buddy using the ESP32-S3 and the Xiaozhi firmware. Just an ESP32, an I2S microphone, an I2S amplifier, and a 128x64 OLED display. What makes this build special: • Custom animated face (blinking, idle movement, listening mode) • Dynamic speaking mouth synced to audio • Wake word detection • I2S microphone + MAX98357A audio output • OTA firmware support • Runs fully on ESP32 hardware I removed the default emoji UI and rewrote the display system to create a proper animated robot face with: - Idle personality movement - Listening side-eye animation - Random blinking - Dynamic mouth animation while speaking This project is completely buildable by students and makers using affordable parts. Hardware used: • Seeed Xiao ESP32-S3 • MAX98357A I2S amplifier • I2S MEMS microphone • 128x64 OLED display • 4Ω 3W speaker The video ends with a working breadboard version, so you can replicate it exactly. If you enjoyed this build, consider subscribing. More serious ESP32 projects coming soon. Buy Xiao ESP32: https://www.seeedstudio.com/XIAO-ESP32S3-p-5627.html?sensecap_affiliate=P9GHEkF&referring_service=link Code: https://github.com/TechTalkies/Xiaozhi-for-XiaoESP32S3