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Inspiration
The inspiration for SpeechAh stems from my brother's speech disability. Only a handful fully understand what my brother says which makes it difficult for him to communicate with others around him in his everyday life. I came up with the idea of using images as his communication tool and have it all on a mobile application.
What it does
SpeechAh is a speech assistant application that uses the power of machine learning to its advantage and images as the solution to speech disability. This app allows children to search for images, take photos, and save these images on their own personal dashboard.
How I built it
First is the Google Cloud Vision API. SpeechAh uses this feature to allow children/parents to take photos in real-time and then receive a response of what it might be. Once the app figures out what the object is, the child can then show others what they were trying to say and then save it for later use.
Next, is the Google Custom Search API. This API is used to allow children and parents the ability to Google Search images and save them to the dashboard. If a child has difficulty saying specific objects, parents can use the custom search to find the object online and save it to the child's dashboard with just a click. Next time the child has difficulty saying such words, they can go to their dashboard and show the image on the app.
Finally, we use Firebase for authentication. Parents that exhibit interest in the application can register to SpeechAh using Firebase through email. Once an account has been created, all images will be saved on that account through the Cloud Firestorea.
Challenges I ran into
Allowing a smooth transition between taking photos and search images was difficult however I believe this challenge was overcome. Also, understanding the Cloud Vision API was a hassle however, this challenge was overcome.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I'm proud that this idea I had is now fully written in code. I'm proud of what I achieved in the last 24 hours thanks to the Google products and excited to see what's to come.
What I learned
I learned that patience is key. Take time in doing your research and be ready before you start attacking the problem.
What's next for SpeechAh
SpeechAh at the moment isn't a final product. Although all the functionalities are present, a user-friendly experience is important for children. My next goal is to make this application as children-safe/friendly as possible.
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