DANIELLAGUNES
PERSONAL RESEARCH STATIONMYCOTUNE / HONEST SQUIGGLE
HOMELIVE SIGNALSign guestbook↗HARP / ACTIVE RESEARCH / ESP32-C3
Daniel is trying to build a small device you can carry, press, and speak into when you want help from your personal AI. The current plan uses a smaller ESP32-C3 SuperMini, a microphone, one clear button, a visible light, a rechargeable battery, and a custom case.
01 / WHAT DANIEL IS BUILDING
Most voice assistants live inside a phone or wait in the room for a wake word. Harpocrates starts with something easier to understand: you press a real button, a light shows that the microphone is on, and then you speak.
The small ESP32-C3 board is not the AI. It records your voice and sends it to a phone or private server, where speech-to-text and AI processing can happen. Daniel already owns a larger ESP32-S3 Feather for early desk testing. The smaller C3 board is the proposed wearable version and still needs to be tested.
02 / HOW IT CONNECTS TO HERMES
“Harpocrates is the private physical gateway to Hermes.” — Daniel
Hermes handles information, strategy, content, and conversations. Harpocrates is the physical device that lets a person choose when to speak to Hermes. It may eventually connect to other AI services too, so it is more than a Hermes accessory.
03 / WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU USE IT
04 / PARTS FOR THE FIRST VERSION
The newly selected V0 target for button input, audio capture, status-light control, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth communication, firmware, and transmission logic. The exact board, available pins, memory limits, microphone compatibility, and power requirements still need bench verification before purchase.
A mono digital microphone preferred for the first prototype. Its bottom port requires a correctly aligned acoustic opening in the enclosure. Planning reference: approximately $6.95; recheck before purchase.
REFERENCE PRODUCT ↗A compact GPIO-connected control for waking the device, starting or ending capture, and potentially supporting short, long, or double-press actions.
The first prototype needs an unmistakable indication whenever the microphone is active. The exact light and GPIO assignment depend on the selected ESP32-C3 SuperMini board and remain undecided.
A protected battery remains the current size target. Because the SuperMini may not provide onboard LiPo charging or regulation, the battery, charger, regulator, connector polarity, and safe power path must be selected and tested together. Runtime has not been tested.
REFERENCE PRODUCT ↗A breadboard-friendly SPDT switch for prototype power or enable control. The wearable may require a smaller enclosure-mounted version.
REFERENCE PRODUCT ↗Intended for firmware flashing, serial debugging, and wired testing. Battery charging through this connector is not assumed and must be verified for the exact board.
Breadboard, jumper wires, headers, thin stranded wire, heat-shrink, solder, JST-compatible battery connection, strain relief, and eventually perfboard or a custom interconnect board.
A pendant, clip, pocket, or lanyard-compatible shell with an exposed button, visible light, aligned microphone opening, accessible USB-C, protected battery, strain relief, and no deceptive hidden-recording appearance.
MINIMUM VIABLE PROTOTYPE
OPTIONAL / FUTURE HARDWARE
05 / WHAT EACH PART DOES
The first Harpocrates will not contain a full AI model. Its job is to record only after a button press, show what it is doing, and send the recording to a phone or server the user approved. That other system can turn speech into text, ask the AI for help, and return the answer.
06 / THE PRIVACY RULES
These are rules Daniel wants the finished device to follow, not promises about a device that does not exist yet. Harpocrates will not be called private, encrypted, secure, or fully local until those claims are built and tested.
07 / WHERE THE PROJECT STANDS
08 / HOW IT BECOMES A REAL DEVICE
Confirm what the device should do, which parts it needs, and whether it will connect through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi first.
Wire the microphone and button, capture a short recording, make the status light work, and learn whether the smaller board has enough memory.
Move a short recording to a phone or server, make reconnecting reliable, and prevent an unknown phone from pairing with the device.
Turn the recording into text, send that text to Hermes or another chosen AI, return the answer, and give the user clear save and delete controls.
Build the enclosure, install the battery and switch safely, and test whether it is comfortable, durable, easy to hear, easy to see, and hard to activate by accident.
Test what happens if someone else tries to connect, the device is lost, an update fails, or stored information needs to be deleted. Document the risks before calling it secure.
09 / WHY IT IS CALLED HARPOCRATES
Harpocrates came from a Greco-Egyptian interpretation of Horus the Child. Egyptian art showed the young figure with a finger near his mouth as a sign of childhood. Greek and Roman viewers later connected that gesture with silence and secrecy.
Daniel's version is a young adult guarding the space between a person's voice and AI. The ivory, antique gold, black background, and small voice orb are meant to feel quiet and controlled. The mythology inspires the design; it does not prove that the technology is secure.
10 / WHAT DANIEL WILL DO NEXT
11 / WHAT THIS IS NOT
There is no launch date, price, tested battery life, finished encryption, security certification, patent claim, manufacturing partner, local AI model, completed companion app, or final product size. Daniel owns the ESP32-S3 Feather for early testing. The smaller ESP32-C3 SuperMini and every other listed part are still proposed unless the page says otherwise.
