Turning Stack-chan into a Presentation Assistant

Building a Stack-chan Presentation Timer with ESP-IDF and Claude Code

As someone who frequently gives lectures, workshops, and conference presentations, I wanted a timer that felt more engaging than a smartphone or laptop screen.

This project turns Stack-chan into a presentation assistant powered by an ESP32-S3. The device displays a large countdown timer, provides visual feedback through facial expressions, and can be controlled directly from the touch screen.

The project was developed using ESP-IDF and M5Unified, with Claude Code used as an AI-assisted development partner during implementation and iteration.

Features

90-minute presentation timer

• 90-minute presentation timer

Touch-screen controls

-5 minutes

• -5 minutes

Reset

• Reset

Start / Pause

• Start / Pause

+5 minutes

• +5 minutes
• Touch-screen controls-5 minutesResetStart / Pause+5 minutes

Facial expressions that change with timer status

• Facial expressions that change with timer status

Audible alerts at important milestones

• Audible alerts at important milestones

Fully standalone operation

• Fully standalone operation

Open-source firmware

• Open-source firmware

Why Stack-chan?

Many presentation timers exist, but most are designed as generic tools.

Stack-chan provides a more human interface. Even simple facial expressions communicate information more naturally than numbers alone.

My long-term goal is to evolve this project from a timer into a presentation companion that can:

Move its head while listening

• Move its head while listening

Blink and react

• Blink and react

Provide voice notifications

• Provide voice notifications

Support lectures and workshops

• Support lectures and workshops

Development Process

The firmware was developed using:

M5Stack Stack-chan (CoreS3)

• M5Stack Stack-chan (CoreS3)

ESP-IDF v5.5.1

• ESP-IDF v5.5.1

M5Unified

• M5Unified

Claude Code

• Claude Code

The workflow was surprisingly effective. Claude Code handled much of the repetitive coding and UI iteration, while testing and validation were performed directly on hardware.

Future Work

Next planned features:

Servo-based head movement

• Servo-based head movement

Blinking animation

• Blinking animation

Voice notifications

• Voice notifications

Speaker-specific presentation modes

• Speaker-specific presentation modes

Source Code

GitHub Repository:https://github.com/takasumasakazu/m5stack-stackchan-presentation-timer

Demonstration

See the attached video for the current version in action.

A Brief History of Stack-chan

Stack-chan began as a personal project by Japanese creator and engineer "shikarunochi" (ししかわさん).

The original idea was simple but powerful: use an M5Stack controller, a pair of servos, and a small animated face to create a desktop companion robot that feels surprisingly alive.

The project was open-sourced and shared with the maker community through Hackster.io and GitHub, attracting a large international following. As the community grew, M5Stack collaborated with the creator to commercialize the concept, making Stack-chan available as an official product and kit.

Today, Stack-chan serves as an excellent platform for experimenting with robotics, user interfaces, embedded AI, and human-robot interaction.

This project builds on that foundation by exploring a different use case: transforming Stack-chan into a presentation assistant for lectures, workshops, and conference talks.

https://hackaday.io/project/181344-stack-chan-javascript-driven-super-kawaii-robot