MyRoboAssistant
Listen. Respond. Connect.
Student: Savchuk Kostiantyn
GitHub Repository: proiect-st-savciucc
Description
MyRoboAssistant is a mid-sized (approx. 140 cm × 80 cm) mobile robot focused on natural voice interaction and emotional feedback. It suggests useful tips, shows animated emotions on a TFT screen, and can be extended via a companion mobile app.
Motivation
This project combines my passion for robotics with safe, high-performance embedded Rust. Rust (via the embassy-rs framework) guarantees memory-safe firmware, while the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W provides built-in Wi-Fi/BLE for easy connectivity.
Architecture
Hardware Blocks
Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W
Role: Central microcontroller, manages I/O and overall device logic
Connections:
- TFT display (SPI)
- Ultrasonic sensors (GPIO trigger/echo)
- I2S microphone (I2S data/clk)
- Speaker via I2S DAC
- DC motors + L298N driver (GPIO + PWM)
- SG90 servo (PWM)
TFT Display (ST7735 480×320)
Interface: SPI
Connections:
- SDA (MOSI) → Pico SPI MOSI pin
- SCL (SCK) → Pico SPI SCK pin
- DC, RST, CS → separate GPIOs
Role: Shows emotions, status, and menu
DC Motors + Wheels
Interface: Powered via L298N driver
Connections:
- IN1–IN4 → Pico GPIO for direction
- EN1–EN2 → Pico PWM for speed
Role: Locomotion
L298N Dual Motor Driver
Interface: GPIO + PWM
Connections:
- VCC, GND → battery/charger
- IN1–IN4, EN1–EN2 → Pico
- OUT1–OUT4 → motors
Role: Drives the DC motors
SG90 Micro Servo
Interface: PWM
Connections:
- Control → Pico PWM pin
- Power → 5 V + GND
Role: Arm gesture
Ultrasonic Sensors (HC-SR04)
Interface: GPIO
Connections:
- Trigger → Pico GPIO
- Echo → Pico GPIO
Role: Proximity detection
I2S Microphone
Interface: I2S
Connections:
- WS, CK, SD → Pico I2S pins
Role: Voice input
I2S DAC (MAX98357A) + Speaker
Interface: I2S
Connections:
- BCLK, LRCLK, DIN → Pico I2S pins
- Speaker → output of MAX98357A
Role: High-quality audio output
Weekly Log
| Period | Status |
|---|---|
| Week 5 – 11 May | WIP… |
| Week 12 – 18 May | WIP… |
| Week 19 – 25 May | WIP… |
Bill of Materials (BOM)
| Component | Qty | Price (RON) |
|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W | 1 | 40 |
| Pb-acid 6 V 12 Ah battery + charger | 1 | 34 |
| Micro metal DC gear-motor | 2 | 159 |
| L298N dual motor driver | 1 | 10 |
| SG90 micro servo | 4 | 12 |
| 3.5″ TFT 480 × 320 touchscreen | 1 | 309 |
| HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor | 2 | 15 |
| PDM MEMS microphone (I2S-capable) | 1 | 44 |
| Mini speaker + AMP | 1 | 70 |
| Consumables (buttons, potentiometers, wires, etc.) | Various | 50 |
Software Design
| Library / Crate | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| embassy / embassy-net | Asynchronous runtime & networking | Core framework for async tasks & Wi-Fi/BLE |
| embedded-hal | Hardware abstraction layer | Standardized traits for MCU peripherals |
| heapless | Fixed-size data structures | Queues, Vec, String without heap use |
| serde / serde_json | Serialization | Config data & message encoding/decoding |
| embedded-graphics | 2D graphics on TFT | Rendering emojis & UI |
| rust-voice | Speech recognition | Keyword spotting & voice command handling |
Main Firmware Tasks
- comm – Wi-Fi/BLE connect & messaging
- emotion_display – emoji animation on TFT
- motion_control – motor & servo control
- speech – audio capture & keyword spotting
Links
- Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W product page – official specifications and documentation
- MyRoboAssistant GitHub – source code and README