ChatGPT Typewriter

In the current issue of the magazine Make project is described, which I had to rebuild directly.

With just under 2 hours of construction time, it's not a big effort, but the result is simply awesome.

The project

The ChatGPT typewriter is an electric typewriter Sigma SM8200i of the Erika family from the 1980s, which writes texts itself with the help of the artificial intelligence ChatGPT. You simply type in a question or the first few words and the typewriter then writes ChatGPT's answer.

In particular, the combination of a retro typewriter with modern AI is an amazing effect and somehow seems a bit unreal or like something out of an old science fiction movie. There is a similar scene in the TV series "Fringe", in which an IBM Selectric 251 typewriter is used as a kind of terminal to communicate with people from an alternative universe.

Video

I also made a short video of my replica, which you can watch here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/Ft4X17rP_vk?feature=share

Replica

I built the replica of the ChatGPT typewriter according to the Make issue 2/2023, where my Sigma SM8200i typewriter has a slightly different circuit board with different connectors than the Erika described in the article.

From the basic principle, however, the connection to the ESP32 is the same and the source code can also be used. The ESP32 gets the 5 volt operating voltage directly from the typewriter.

In addition to 6 cables to be soldered, all you need is the WLAN data and an API key for the ChatGPT service, which you can create free of charge here. Reassembled, the ChatGPT typewriter then looks like a normal typewriter again, which you can't see the conversion.

The USB port for programming the ESP32 is now located under the inspection flap: