Keeping in touch can be tricky when working from home or isolating due to illness. This Raspberry Pi project aims to bridge the communication gap with a simple DIY intercom. It was created by Chordata’s tech lead, Bruno, and shared recently on the Chordata blog.

The project relies on Telegram to operate, using a custom Telegram bot to coordinate the voice message transfer. The gpiozero library was used to recognize button input and trigger the necessary events in Telegram.

To take things a step further, Bruno decided to design a custom breakout HAT just for the project. It has screw terminals that make it easier to connect all of the buttons and components used in the final build. The HAT was designed in Kicad, and the files are free for anyone to download via Gitlab.

Since the Pi has no mic input, a USB microphone was disassembled from its housing and used instead. A small speaker was connected to the audio out jack.

If you want to explore this project in detail, check out the full blog post on the Chordata website. Visit our list of Best Raspberry Pi Projects for more cool creations from the Raspberry Pi community.