Running Doom on Wireless Earbuds? This Hacker Just Did It

When most people think of wireless earbuds, they imagine music, podcasts, or phone calls. Coder Arin Sarkisan had a different vision: running the legendary first-person shooter Doom on hardware never meant to display graphics.

The "Doombuds" project transforms PineBuds Pro wireless earbuds into an unlikely gaming platform, streaming compressed video at 22-27 frames per second through a JavaScript interface. While the earbuds themselves can't display the game, Sarkisan's hack uses their UART contact pads to transmit a heavily compressed MJPEG video stream to a web server, creating a bridge between the tiny embedded system and a visual display.

Why PineBuds Pro Made This Possible

This isn't your typical consumer electronics hack. The PineBuds Pro stand apart in the wireless audio market because they feature completely open-source firmware and a community-maintained SDK. Unlike mainstream earbuds from Apple, Sony, or Samsung, these devices welcome tinkering rather than resist it.

The technical specs reveal why this works: the 2.4 MB/s data stream from the UART connection provides just enough bandwidth for video transmission, while the embedded CPU manages to run Doom at a maximum of 18 fps. It's a perfect match of limitations—the hardware can't render faster than the connection can transmit.

The Broader Context of "Can It Run Doom?"

Doom, released in 1993, has become the unofficial benchmark for hardware hacking creativity. The game has been ported to calculators, smart fridges, pregnancy tests, and even bacteria. But the Doombuds project represents something different: it's not just about proving a device can run the game, but exploring how we can reimagine the purpose of everyday hardware.

This trend reflects a growing movement in embedded systems development where hobbyists push against the artificial constraints imposed by manufacturers. While companies often lock down their hardware to maintain control and prevent "misuse," projects like Doombuds demonstrate the untapped potential sitting in our pockets.

The Open Source Hardware Revolution

The success of this project highlights a crucial divide in consumer electronics. Most wireless earbuds are black boxes—sealed systems that users can only interact with through predetermined interfaces. The PineBuds Pro, by contrast, represent a philosophy where users own not just the hardware, but the software that runs on it.

This approach has implications beyond gaming novelties. Open-source firmware enables custom audio processing, personalized noise cancellation algorithms, and integration with alternative ecosystems. For developers and researchers, it provides a platform for experimenting with spatial audio, hearing assistance, and real-time audio analysis.

Technical Challenges and Creative Solutions

Streaming video through earbuds required solving several engineering puzzles. The UART interface wasn't designed for multimedia transmission, forcing Sarkisan to develop creative compression techniques. The JavaScript bridge between embedded C code and web technologies showcases how modern development increasingly blends low-level hardware control with high-level scripting languages.

The 22-27 fps video stream might seem modest by today's standards, but it's remarkable for hardware designed to process audio signals. This performance suggests that many embedded devices around us have significantly more computational headroom than their intended applications require.