One of my kids want some stuff to turn on when clapping hands. And we want to develop it together (that’s the best part! 
). However, I want to check and see if this is possible together with HA. Controlling devices will be through Z2M. I assume ESPhome does not support a feature of recognising hand claps? So then it would come down to programming something myself. Probably measuring decibels. That’s something different than hand claps. But I want to keep this project small as I have many other things to do and I’m not looking to implement some form of AI open source thingy to recognize the kind of sound which will cost me days to get to know the software etcetera. When trigger levels are reached, I need to communicate, with HA or directly Z2M. So a service call or an MQTT message. However, I am open to any idea alternative to mine.
I will need some cheap hardware and thought the M5Stack Echo fits the bill. The loudspeaker is not so important, I understand it’s a feeble thing. But I also read that the mic isn’t always that great. Then I saw that there is a succesor, the EchoS3R. Maybe the mic is better, but I couldn’t find any experiences with that device.
So, in the end there are actually several questions:
- Would it be possible to recognise hand claps with an Echo or Echo S3R and communicate with HA/Z2M?
- Does anyone have a better idea on how to implement my idea without having to work on it for several days?
- Would an Echo be fit for purpose or would the S3R fit better?