M5Stack Launches StackChan and the Appeal Is Real

I’m a big fan of M5Stack, because they produce all kinds of useful, innovative, and affordable hardware for makers. The M5StickC line, for example, is incredibly versatile for devices at such low prices, which has resulted in other manufacturers releasing similar devices. But now M5Stack is launching something a little bit different: StackChan.

StackChan stands out to me because it is kawaii. While most of M5Stack’s products are cool and interesting, this is the first that I’ve seen that was designed with “cute” as a high priority.

It is a little desktop companion robot with limited movement and a lot of personality. It has pan and tilt motors, with a 2” IPS LCD face. Inside is an ESP32-S3 and StackChan looks at the world — and the user — through a 0.3MP camera. That camera may have a low resolution, but that helps to let various machine learning models process video at usable framerates.

And that is what StackChan is really for: experimenting with and developing interactive AI. There are several available to use right out of the box, like a model that causes StackChan to mimic your movements and expressions. But this is an open-source system and you can program any behavior you like, using whatever models you like, in whatever language or coding platform you like.

There are two types of potential buyers here: people who want an affordable desktop companion robot and people who want to create desktop companion robots without starting from scratch.

If you want a more in-depth exploration of the built-in features, check out this great video from Sachin Soni at Techiesms.

And if you’re convinced and want to join the 2,000+ backers on Kickstarter, you can get StackChan through the super early bird special for about $66. Rewards should ship in April.