Ariana - AI Interactive Companion Robot(personal use)

1. Project Overview

Ariana is an Personal use, highly expressive AI-powered animatronics companion robot. Designed with realistic facial/body movements and custom voice synthesis, Ariana acts as an interactive desktop assistant capable of natural conversation, emotional responses, and audio processing.

2. Main Hardware & PCBA Specifications

Main Processing Unit: ESP32-S3 (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth enabled for cloud AI integration and real-time processing).

Audio System: I2S Digital Audio Amplifier (MAX98357A) + I2S Microphone (INMP441) for real-time speech input/output.

Motor & Servo Controllers: Dedicated PWM drivers (PCA9685) to control multi-axis servo motors for mouth, eye, and head articulation.

Power Management: Onboard buck converters and LDO regulators to provide stable 5V and 3.3V rails for digital logic and servos.

PCB Specs: 2-layer custom board, compact form factor, SMD/Through-hole hybrid layout.

3. Purpose of Sponsorship Request

We are applying for PCB manufacturing and PCBA (component assembly) support from PCBWay. Due to the precision required for the motor drivers and surface-mount audio chips, full PCBA assembly ensures a reliable prototype for testing and video production.

4. Promotion & Exposure Plan

YouTube Showcase: Full build log and assembly video featuring PCBWay as the official PCB & PCBA sponsor (including board showcase and logo placement), for PG 13 public and can have fun on the videos.