DailyHero

AI That Speaks When You Can't, empowering everyone to become a daily hero.

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Inspiration

I never thought I'd need emergency help until I was in a car accident. I was alone, in a foreign country, completely panicking. I had no idea what to do. Later, I realized: I could've just asked AI. But in that moment? My brain was too scrambled to even think of it.

That's when the real idea hit me: What if AI didn't wait to be asked? What if it could detect the crisis, take action, and coordinate help, all on its own?

I didn't want to build just another emergency app. I wanted to build an AI that acts, one that notices when you're in trouble, calls for help when you can't speak, and guides people around you to save your life.

I started with choking because the research floored me: people choke while surrounded by friends at dinner tables, yet nobody realizes they need help. Some victims instinctively walk to isolated corners (the absolute worst thing to do). Even when bystanders are present, they often don't recognize the silent signs of choking.

So the voice in my mind told me: let AI take the initiative, so no one has to face their worst moment alone.

What it does

DailyHero actively monitors for choking emergencies using your phone's camera and sensors. When it detects someone choking, it doesn't wait for instructions, it acts.

If you're alone: It will immediately call emergency services and communicate on your behalf and provide step-by-step self-rescue instructions.

If bystanders are present: It will Alert them that you need help, instruct them how to perform the Heimlich maneuver, coordinate with emergency services while guiding the rescue.

The AI doesn't just give instructions and disappear, it stays in the room. It answers the dispatcher's questions ("Is the patient still conscious?"), coaches the bystander through each compression ("A bit higher on the chest"), reassures the victim ("You can do it!"), and continuously reports back to emergency services as the situation evolves.

Oh, and when you're safe, it thanks the people who helped you.

How we built it

Built with Google AI Studio and Gemini Live API.

The Gemini Live API powers the real-time multimodal experience:

  • Video analysis detects choking through visual cues (hand-to-throat gesture, facial distress)
  • Live voice interaction communicates with victims, bystanders, and emergency services simultaneously
  • Contextual AI adapts guidance based on whether you're alone or surrounded by people

Solo developer, zero coding skills, infinite patience required.

Challenges we ran into

  • Teaching AI to be an emergency coordinator makes me feel myself in an emergency situation from time to time.
  • The detection is still slower than I'd like. Right now I console myself with "it's being thorough", but honestly, it needs to be faster.
  • I debated using different AI voices for different people (patient vs. bystanders vs. paramedics), kind of like how humans naturally shift tone when addressing different listeners. But I worried it'd get chaotic. Haven't implemented it yet.
  • Hard to find people to test and train my multi-people scenarios, also my acting was not that good, AI sometimes can find me pretending (was quite funny tho).
  • Wanted to try the new "publish" service but found it is now "temporarily disabled while we work on system updates. Check back soon.", so spent some time deployed myself.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Real talk: I've had a Heimlich maneuver tutorial bookmarked for years. Never watched it. When I was doing the research I watched some, and let's be honest, I found out that if I'm actually choking, I might need to wait for a 30-second ad first.

Building DailyHero forced me to actually learn what to do in a choking emergency. I now genuinely feel ready to be a daily hero. (Though I sincerely hope everyone stays healthy and we never need to test that!)

What we learned

  • Vibe coding has limits. AI assistance is great for getting started, but there's no replacement for collaborating with experienced developers who actually know what they're doing.
  • I thought doing this a second time would be easier. It wasn't. At all.
  • Emergency response is more nuanced than I expected. The difference between "helpful AI" and "intrusive AI" is surprisingly narrow, especially when lives are at stake.

What's next for DailyHero

Immediate priorities:

  • Improve detection speed and accuracy (less "thorough," more "instant").
  • Expand beyond choking to other solo emergencies (heart attacks, seizures, falls).

Long-term vision:

  • Partner with emergency services for a better emergency experience,
  • Build a network that encourages more people to become a daily hero, not just for those physically emergency situations, but for the people who might be suffering in other situations silently.

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