HeartBridge

Never feel the absence of your partner anywhere, whether they're halfway across the World or 20 minutes away, let HeartBridge redefine long-distance.

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Inspiration

Distance should not have to weaken bonds. As people of non-Canadian ethnic backgrounds, we were inspired by the experience of our families separated by border - Our grandparents missing us, maintaining long distance relationships over impersonal video calls, and of course, families becoming lonely. So we asked: "what if remote communication becomes interactive, playful, and emotionally present?" - This led to the idea of HeartBridge.

What it does

HeartBridge is a remotely controlled social robot designed to foster emotional connection across distance. Using a phone, users can:

  • Drive the robot in real time.
  • Display emotions on a round LCD screen.
  • View live video feed from the bot's camera.
  • Communicate through the robot using voice.
  • And ultimately make communication interactive and playful.

As a result, passive calls become physical presence.

How we built it

We integrated multiple embedded and networking systems into a single platform. On the hardware side:

  • ESP32 Microcontroller
  • Motor Driver + wheeled chassis.
  • Round LCD for emotion display.
  • Camera module for live video feed.
  • Bluetooth audio module for voice transmission.
  • Rechargeable battery for repeated use.

Software and Communication:

  • Web-based control interface.
  • WiFi hotspot control (Current interation)
  • LCD animation pipeline for minimal stutter in display.
  • Video streaming to the web interface.
  • Bluetooth audio processing and relay.

Overall, it is a synchrony of motion, expression, video, and audio subsystems to emulate physical presence.

Challenges we ran into

Being an ambitious project, we ran into multiple challenges. This involved:

  • Maintaining low-latency responsiveness over wireless control.
  • Synchronizing motion, video, and emotional display in real time.
  • Rendering smooth facial animations on limited embedded hardware.
  • Managing power demands across motors, display, and camera.
  • Integrating multiple communication channels into a cohesive system.
  • Trying to host a public server on Linux with an Arduino Uno Q.

Due to time constraints, we made some strategic trade-offs:

  • Drop the Arduino Uno Q for the ESP32 (Hotspot control).
  • Bluetooth audio instead of internet-based streaming.
  • Local hotspot control instead of cloud deployment.
  • Simplified chassis for rapid prototyping.

These trade-offs let us build a reliable and functional prototype that can be later improved and made better.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Built a fully functional robot in a hackathon timeframe.
  • Successfully integrated control, video, audio, and emotional display.
  • Created expressive animated emotions on embedded hardware.
  • Delivered a responsive and engaging user experience.
  • Designed a solution with real social impact.

What we learned

  • We learned how to integrate multiple embedded subsystems into a single system.
  • The importance of low-latency communication.
  • The importance of efficient code in embedded systems.
  • Rapid prototyping and decision-making under time constraints
  • The importance of prioritizing core user experience over fancy add-ons.
  • The importance of planning ahead of time.

What's next for HeartBridge

Next steps include:

  • A cloud based relay server for global connectivity.
  • Enabling internet-based audio streaming including two way voice relay.
  • Adding security and encryption.
  • Adding an AI based emotion detection depending on voice tone.
  • Including Computer Vision based autopilot tracking to have the bot follow a person/pet.
  • Ensuring a smaller, safer, cuter, and more durable design.
  • Adding water and dust resistance.

Built With

  • 3d-printing
  • c++
  • cad
  • esp32
  • l298n-driver-board
  • raspberyy-pi-cam
  • tt-gear-motors
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