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Wake Word Detection with ESP32-S3: A Device That Responds to Voice Commands
Advanced13/6/2026- Author: IoTSpark Maker

Wake Word Detection with ESP32-S3: A Device That Responds to Voice Commands

This project shows you how to build a device that always listens through a microphone with an ESP32-S3 and an INMP441 I2S microphone — when the user says the programmed wake word, the device automatically wakes up and responds.

ESP32-S3Wake WordWakeNetESP-SRAIoTI2SINMP441
6 steps7 components
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Detailed guide

Setting Up ESP-IDF and ESP-SR for the WakeNet Project

Updated 31/08/2026

Introduction to the ESP-IDF

The ESP-IDF (Espressif IoT Development Framework) is the official development toolkit for ESP32-based products. It provides the libraries and APIs needed to build IoT applications efficiently.

Installing the ESP-IDF

  1. Visit the official ESP-IDF page: ESP-IDF Getting Started.

  2. Choose your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux) and follow the installation instructions.

  3. Make sure you've installed Python and required tools like Git and CMake.

Setting Up the Development Environment

After installing, you need to set the environment variables for the ESP-IDF:


export IDF_PATH=~/esp/esp-idf
source $IDF_PATH/export.sh

Installing ESP-SR (Speech Recognition)

ESP-SR is Espressif's speech-recognition library for the ESP32. To install it, add ESP-SR as a component in your ESP-IDF project. Follow these steps:

  1. Add the ESP-SR folder to your project by copying it into the components directory of your ESP-IDF project.

  2. Refer to the ESP-SR documentation for usage and configuration details.

Connecting the INMP441 Microphone

The INMP441 microphone uses the I2S protocol to transmit its audio signal. Connect the microphone's pins to the ESP32-S3 as follows:

  • VCC: connect to 3.3V (check your specific module's voltage before connecting)

  • GND: connect to GND

  • SCK: connect to GPIO 14 (or another I2S SCK-capable pin — check the datasheet for pin capability)

  • WS: connect to GPIO 15 (or another I2S WS-capable pin — check the datasheet for pin capability)

  • SD: connect to GPIO 32 (or another I2S SD-capable pin — check the datasheet for pin capability)

Note: make sure you've set the correct GPIO pins according to the ESP32-S3's pinout.

Building and Flashing the Program

To build and flash the program onto the ESP32-S3, use the following command:


idf.py -p COM3 flash

Replace COM3 with your serial port (check your system for the exact port).