Max-a-Million

Project Summary

Max1M (short for Max-a-Million) is a personal project I started with the goal of creating my own AI companion which is something I’ve dreamed of making for as long as we've had Siri on our IPhones. It’s designed to be a digital assistant like an Amazon Alexa or Apple's Siri but with a face that looks back at you as it talks back and a much more vibrant personality that adapts with you. This is in the hopes of bringing a lot more personality to otherwise robotic virtual assistants.

The plan is for Max to sit on a screen (which can either be on a personal computer or in my case a monitor mounted on a wall) follow whoever is talking with his eyes and respond in real time by reacting to audio and movement, later developing its own voice and personality. I want Max to eventually be fully capable of replacing my Amazon Alexa in terms of interactions and control over smart home products.

The name comes from a mix of things. “Max” represents my goal of reaching the max of my potential, and “a-Million” adds a kind of futuristic charm that feels right for a project like this. Like how a character in a show might name their latest invention the incinerator 2000… or something. A big number following the name to give it some power. It was exactly the kind of cheesy charm I was looking for for this digital buddy.

In this case, 1,000,000 felt like a big enough number for a project that's supposed to be about breaking my own expectations and pushing my limits. I also like the idea of a million being a lot of something, like a million stars to see or a million grains of sand to wander, a million possibilities to explore. It gives the name a sense of wonder and possibility, which is what I hope this project will inspire in others.

  • LANGUAGES USED:
    • Python []
  • ENGINE: Built From Scratch
  • GENRE:
    • AI Companion
  • PLATFORMS:
    • PC,
    • Mac
  • CODE:
    • Riley Underwood
    • ChatGPT
  • DESIGN:
    • Riley Underwood
  • LLM MODEL:
    • GPT-4.1

Interface with a FaceThe main goal of Max1M is to not only be a more advanced replacement for smart assistants, but to make interactions more friendly and personal by adding a face for expression and connection. This is a look at what the basic face looks like without animation. In the future I'd like to add all kinds of expressions but for now I've chosen to stick with a simple face design and animation.

What Max SeesLike a person, Max1M can look back at whoever is talking to him. He can make use of an installed camera to track human faces, using the camera's data along with coordinates from his face tracking software to calculate where to animate the eyes. The hope for this is to make interactions with max feel more natural.

Install AnywhereMax's program can be installed on pretty much any computer that supports running python applications. Complete installation involves downloading the Max1M program, downloading python and pygame, an attached camera and microphone, and an internet connection for AI responses. I always want Max's code to be free to download and use and I do my best to make sure anyone with the minimum requirements can make a new friend with Max.

Raspberry PiThough Max1M can be installed on most computers, Max is built to run on a Raspberry Pi, a small computer a fraction of the size and power of a normal desktop. This, coupled with the fact that I want the Max1M to be accessible to as many people means a big focus on this project for me is making the program as optimised and user friendly as possible.

Extra InformationIn addition to personal interactions, Max1M will be capable of controlling smart home products like lights and plugs, eliminating the need for products like Google Home or Amazon Alexa. In the future I may continue adding quality of life abilities like telling time, setting alarms, sending messages, etc. If you have any ideas or suggestions you'd like to see turned into features of Max1M, please feel free to reach out to me using my contact information below!