Expressive Eyes Example

This example demonstrates animated expressive eyes on various ESP32 display boards. It showcases different expressions, eye movements, and includes a continuous random demo mode perfect for a desk display.

happy image sad image
angry image surprised image
sleepy image bored image
wink left image wink right image
looking left image looking right image
looking up image looking down image

Videos:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/966f5e63-aeb8-4fc3-b915-c4936fee7a1f

How to use example

Hardware Required

This example can be configured to run on the following dev boards:

  • ESP32-S3-BOX / ESP32-S3-BOX-3

  • MaTouch Rotary Display

  • WS-S3-Touch

Configure the project

idf.py menuconfig

Navigate to Expressive Eyes Example Configuration to:

  • Select your board

  • Choose drawing method (Full Featured or Monochrome Blue)

Build and Flash

Build the project and flash it to the board, then run monitor tool to view serial output:

idf.py -p PORT flash monitor

(Replace PORT with the name of the serial port to use.)

(To exit the serial monitor, type Ctrl-].)

See the Getting Started Guide for full steps to configure and use ESP-IDF to build projects.

Example Breakdown

The example has three phases:

1. Expression Showcase

Cycles through all available expressions (3 seconds each):

  • Neutral

  • Happy

  • Sad

  • Angry

  • Surprised

2. Look Direction Demo

Demonstrates the look_at functionality by looking in different directions (1.5 seconds each):

  • Left

  • Right

  • Up

  • Down

  • Center

3. Random Demo Mode

Enters continuous random demo mode for engaging desk display:

  • Natural behavior: Mostly stays neutral with occasional emotional expressions

  • Random looking: Eyes look in random directions every 2-6 seconds

  • Expression changes: Randomly changes expression every 5-15 seconds

    • 50% neutral (most common)

    • 20% happy

    • 10% surprised

    • 10% sad

    • 10% angry

  • Automatic blinking: Eyes blink naturally at random intervals

The random demo mode runs indefinitely, making it perfect for a continuous desk display.

Drawer Implementations

The example includes two drawer implementations:

Monochrome Blue Drawer

  • Electric blue (#00BFFF) eyes on black background

  • No pupils (solid colored eyes)

  • Minimalist aesthetic perfect for sci-fi interfaces

  • Black eyebrows and cheeks

See README_DRAWERS.md for details on creating custom drawer implementations.

Example Output

happy image sad image
angry image surprised image
sleepy image bored image
wink left image wink right image
looking left image looking right image
looking up image looking down image
image 
I (886) main_task: Calling app_main()
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][0.889]: Starting Expressive Eyes Example
[WsS3Touch/I][0.899]: Initializing LCD...
[WsS3Touch/I][0.900]: Initializing SPI...
[WsS3Touch/I][0.906]: Adding device to SPI bus...
[WsS3Touch/I][0.911]: Initializing the display driver...
[WsS3Touch/I][1.321]: Display driver initialized successfully!
W (1322) ledc: the binded timer can't keep alive in sleep
[WsS3Touch/I][1.324]: Initializing display with pixel buffer size: 12000
[WsS3Touch/I][1.334]: Display initialized successfully!
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][1.335]: Display size: 240x280
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][1.342]: Using Monochrome Blue drawer
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][1.392]: Expressive eyes initialized
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][1.392]: Testing different expressions...
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][1.395]: Expression: Neutral
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][11.928]: Expression: Happy
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][22.548]: Expression: Sad
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][33.168]: Expression: Angry
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][43.788]: Expression: Surprised
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][54.407]: Testing look_at functionality
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][54.408]: Looking left
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][59.717]: Looking right
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][65.028]: Looking up
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][70.337]: Looking down
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][75.648]: Looking center
[Expressive Eyes Example/I][80.957]: Starting random demo mode - will run continuously