NuruniTech/ticha

"Real-time AI voice tutor teaching children Swahili ↔ English, built on Google Gemini Live Audio API." # Ticha — AI Voice Language Tutor for African Children **Google Gemini Live Agent Challenge 2026** Ticha is a real-time AI voice companion that teaches children to speak **Swahili ↔ English** through natural conversation — no reading, no typing, just talk. --- ## What is Ticha? Ticha ("teacher" in Swahili) is an AI-powered language tutor built specifically for African children. A child simply presses a button and starts talking — Ticha listens, responds, celebrates progress, and guides them through a structured vocabulary lesson entirely by voice. The app supports two learning directions: - **English speaker learning Swahili** — Ticha speaks English, teaches Swahili words - **Swahili speaker learning English** — Ticha speaks Swahili, teaches English words Topics include **Animals, Colors, Numbers, Body Parts, and People**. --- ## Live Demo 🌐 **ticha.app** --- ## How Gemini Live API Powers Ticha Ticha is built on **Gemini 2.5 Flash Live Audio** (`gemini-2.5-flash-native-audio-latest`) for real-time, bidirectional voice streaming. | Feature | Implementation | |---------|---------------| | Real-time voice conversation | `@google/genai` `client.live.connect()` WebSocket session | | Microphone capture | `AudioWorklet` (`MicProcessor`) at 16 kHz, zero main-thread jitter | | Audio playback | Dual `AudioContext` — one for capture (16 kHz), one for playback (24 kHz). Gapless via `AudioBufferSourceNode` queue | | Voice Activity Detection | Gemini's built-in VAD — `realtimeInputConfig.automaticActivityDetection` | | Barge-in / interruption | Mic always open — child can speak mid-sentence; queued audio cancelled instantly | | Structured lesson | ~12 KB system prompt encodes a 5-step CEFR A1 lesson with 3 exchanges per word | | Bilingual teaching | Language direction selected per child profile; trigger phrase and hooks adapt automatically | | Session auto-end | `"Tutaonana"` phrase in Ticha's transcript signals lesson complete → quiz transition | | Session persis …