# Atomic VU Assistant

ESPHome/Home Assistant voice assistant prototype built from an ESP32-WROVER-E, INMP441 I2S microphone, MAX98357A I2S amplifier, push button, wake/status LED, and speaker.

This baseline is the first confirmed working breadboard build.

## Confirmed working

- ESP32-WROVER-E boots and connects to ESPHome

- Push button starts Home Assistant Assist

- Wake/status LED turns on while the voice assistant is active

- INMP441 microphone streams audio to Home Assistant

- Home Assistant Cloud STT recognizes speech

- Home Assistant generates a TTS response

- MAX98357A amplifier plays the response through the speaker

Test phrase confirmed:

> "What time is it?"

Response heard from speaker:

> "5:04 PM"

## Hardware

- ESP32-WROVER-E N8R8 on breakout board

- INMP441 I2S microphone

- MAX98357A I2S amplifier

- 4 ohm / 3 watt speaker

- Momentary push button

- LED with 1K resistor

- Breadboard prototype

## Pin map

### LED

| ESP32 | Component |

|---|---|

| GPIO33 | 1K resistor -> LED anode |

| GND | LED cathode |

### Button

| ESP32 | Component |

|---|---|

| GPIO32 | Momentary button |

| GND | Other side of momentary button |

### INMP441 microphone

| INMP441 | ESP32 / Rail |

|---|---|

| VDD | 3.3V |

| GND | GND |

| L/R | GND |

| SCK / BCLK | GPIO25 |

| WS / LRCLK | GPIO26 |

| SD / DOUT | GPIO13 |

### MAX98357A amplifier

| MAX98357A | ESP32 / Rail |

|---|---|

| VIN | 5V / VIN |

| GND | GND |

| LRC | GPIO14 |

| BCLK | GPIO27 |

| DIN | GPIO22 |

| Speaker + | Speaker + |

| Speaker - | Speaker - |

GAIN and SD were left unconnected for the working prototype.

## Notes

- ESP32 is powered by USB during prototyping.

- INMP441 must use 3.3V, not 5V.

- MAX98357A uses 5V/VIN.

- All grounds are common.

- Do not connect either speaker wire to ESP32 GND. Speaker wires go only to the amplifier output.

- The original AtomicVoyage/APM32 VU meter board is not connected yet. Plan is to leave it intact so the original mic/meter circuit can continue driving the VU needles. for more information, visit my Github: https://github.com/deftones064/atomic-vu-assistant