What a Stack-chan Presentation Assistant Is and Why It Matters
A Stack-chan presentation assistant is a modified Stack-chan desktop robot, running custom ESP-IDF firmware, that acts as a touch-controlled timing and interaction companion during talks, conferences, and workshops by combining countdown displays, expressive facial animations, and simple user input into one portable AI hardware tool. Stack-chan began as an open-source, servo-driven “kawaii” robotic avatar with an animated face and has grown into a flexible platform for human‑robot interaction and embedded AI experiments. Turning it into a presentation assistant adapts this playful form factor into a practical interactive presentation tool. Instead of staring at a phone or laptop clock, you get a small robotic avatar that can show a large countdown timer, change expressions with status, and respond to touch. This human-like feedback helps you keep pace while also giving your audience something lively and memorable on the podium.
Prepare Your Hardware and ESP-IDF Development Environment
To start, you need a Stack-chan built around an M5Stack CoreS3 (or a compatible ESP32-S3-based controller), plus a USB cable and a computer with ESP-IDF installed. Install ESP-IDF v5.5.1 or newer, then add the M5Unified library so you can drive the display, touch panel, and any servos from one consistent API. According to the Hackster.io project, “The firmware was developed using: M5Stack Stack-chan (CoreS3), ESP-IDF v5.5.1, M5Unified, Claude Code.” Once ESP-IDF is set up, clone the open-source Stack-chan presentation timer repository into your workspace. This codebase gives you a working foundation for ESP-IDF firmware customization, including a 90-minute presentation timer, simple menus, and expressive faces that already respond to time states, which you can adapt for conference slide control and richer interaction.
Customize ESP-IDF Firmware for Touch Controls and Slide Flow
With the base project open, focus first on touch interaction so Stack-chan becomes a real interactive presentation tool instead of a passive timer. The reference firmware maps on-screen buttons to -5 minutes, +5 minutes, Reset, and Start/Pause controls, using the CoreS3’s built-in touch display for direct manipulation. Extend this logic by defining new regions or modes: for example, a short tap to start or pause the session, a swipe to mark slide transitions, or a long press to trigger a “Q&A mode” expression. Because ESP-IDF structures tasks cleanly, you can keep timing, touch handling, and display rendering in separate components. That makes it easier to experiment with new gestures without breaking your countdown logic. Test each interaction on the physical device, refining hit boxes and feedback so you can operate the Stack-chan presentation assistant by feel while speaking.
Design Expressive Facial Animations for Live Engagement
Next, turn Stack-chan’s face into a visual narrative for your talk. The existing firmware already ties facial expressions to timer states, showing different moods as time counts down. You can expand this with additional animations: a calm blinking loop during introductions, an eager expression when you move to core content, and a slightly worried face when the timer enters the final minutes. The project demonstrates that “facial expressions that change with timer status” and “audible alerts at important milestones” give quick at-a-glance feedback even when you cannot read the exact number of minutes left. Use the M5Unified drawing APIs to create simple eyes, mouth shapes, and transition frames. Keep animations bold and high-contrast so they remain readable from your podium position and, where possible, align expressions with the emotional tone of each presentation segment.
Extend Your Robotic Avatar Project Beyond Timing
Once your Stack-chan presentation assistant reliably tracks time and responds to touch, consider moving beyond timing into richer robotic avatar projects. The documented roadmap includes servo-based head movement, blinking animation, voice notifications, and speaker-specific presentation modes, all of which deepen the sense that a small robot is sharing the stage with you. This is where interactive presentation tools intersect with practical AI hardware applications: the same ESP32-S3 that runs your countdown can host simple logic for reacting to audience questions, nodding during discussions, or speaking short prompts over the built-in speaker. Because the firmware and original Stack-chan concept are open-source, you can reuse community code and contribute your own improvements. Over time, your modified robot can evolve from a neat timer into a personality-rich presentation companion that supports different talk formats and teaching styles.
