I present you with the Eximus smart speaker. A complete system built from components, and utilising the established mounting ecosystem of the Echo Dot 3. Circuitry is based on existing successful development boards such as the ESP-S3-BOX-3 and the ESP32-S3-Korvo-1 v5.0. This project aims to be at least on par with with an Amazon Echo Dot v3, while keeping the cost to a reasonable level (aiming for ~£30), without compromising the project goals
The schematic is currently in drafting phase (more will come once I’m back at a workstation in 1 week), it will be made available on GitHub, and will deliver the following functionality:
3 mic array, to facilitate detection of intent
Neopixel ring to provide visual feedback
Listenable quality audio playback with decent base and volume
Use USB-C port for data connection and power.
Lux level sensor, to allow dimming of the light in darkened rooms
Hardware mute button, to disable the ADC and illuminated a RED LED
Removal of unnecessary defaults, such as USB-serial and battery power.
Any unused/shareable GPIO and busses will be exposed to the end user for hackability.
The enclosure will be compatible Amazon echo dot v3 mounting systems, and have an aesthetic based on it too, by utilising speaker fabric to cover a 3d printed acoustic chamber/ enclosure
This project will utilise the work of my previous post, but this thread aims to be a complete (component level) solution, with minimal compromises, instead of using readily available devkits (that the other thread was for), while still allowing end user modification to create add-ons such as sensors.
Project details can be found on GitHub the Schematic and board layouts are in early development, and will continue to be fleshed out over the coming weeks
The goal would be to make the PCB files available for the public to get manufactured and start a small production run that I could post from the UK, with connecting screws and fabric pre cut for the enclosure (maybe even 3d printed parts too). If there is enough demand I will then contact suppliers for distributing globally. In short I’m aiming to make this as accessible as possible to all users, of all skill levels.
The enclosures would initially be intended for 3d printing at home, but could be out sourced to external fab shops already established, or maybe even the same suppliers could possibly stock the enclosure as a complete kit. (Though that may have to be directly shipped from china, or via Etsy, as I’m not sure how many patents the case design would be infringing upon)
How hard would it be to take an existing speaker like the Echo Dot 3 or Google Nest Mini and just replace the brains? Or even better, reflash the firmware?
It is possible to shoehorn in some functionality into a Google home mini (there are some project out there that do that to a limited extent)
Though the resulting device would have too many compromises as it’s difficult for a small group to get the circuit density in small batch runs.
Trying to reprogram a Echo Dot looks to be an extremely tricky feat. I believe someone jalebroke the Echo Gen1, but didn’t see them achieve anything useful with it. After that Amazon locked down the devices a lot more.
At the end of the day they are making a loss on the hardware with the intent to make money from the cloud services, it’s unfortunately in their interest to make the hardware only work with their platform
I have ended up taking a few different iterations from this idea, and after talking to a fair few people, believe building a new PCB for a new enclosure (not based on Google or Amazon’s offering) gives us the most flexibility for going forwards, and not being limited by the dwindling supply of Dots or Google homes. First was Eximus, then came Libre Talk Signal/Wave, and now I’m working full time on FutureProofHomes Satellite1 (along with it’s ecosystem)
We definitely have a lot of work on our plate, and I need to get the schematics all ready for going public over the next few days
Since you asked the question, I have gone from working on this as a hobby to a full time job. It has integrated project names a couple of times, but the core idea is now at the heart of the FutureProofHomes Satellite1 1 as a product. Currently we are beta testing the units publicly, and will be releasing a new batch at the end of Q1 2025 (improvements are being made based on feedback, and inhouse testing)
Having a project like this made in small batches is crazy expensive. At around about £90 per unit (of 3 mating PCB’s)
