Your Desk Is Boring — Here’s How to Fix It in 60 Minutes

Maybe it is to deal with the loneliness of remote work, or perhaps it is just to add some fun to an otherwise dull work day; whatever the reason may be, digital desktop companions are very popular right now. If you are in the market for one, then you know that of the dozens of commercial options available, many are selling for hundreds of dollars. That’s more than most people want to spend on what is essentially a toy that they play with for a few minutes here and there.

Of course, you can save some cash by building your own, but the trade-off is that you have to spend a lot of time on it, and maybe even pick up some new skills first. However, as TechWithPi demonstrated, making your own desktop companion robot can actually be quite simple — as long as you are not overly concerned with what it looks like.

TechWithPi’s creation is built on top of a standard mini breadboard. It uses a powerful yet inexpensive ESP32-C3 Super Mini development board to power the robot. This board is connected to a 0.96-inch OLED display that serves as the face. A touch sensor module and buzzer allow for interaction, and a rechargeable battery keeps the system powered up.

As it turns out, this hardware stack is compatible with Dasai Mochi digital companions. Consequently, TechWithPi explains how you can load the Dasai Mochi firmware onto your own DIY build. There are even options to select the style of face you want to customize the robot.

If you don’t already have the components on hand, you can pick them all up for a few dollars if you shop around. If you’ve already got all the parts, why not spend the next hour making yourself a little digital buddy to keep you company?