StageWhisper

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Group Photo With Chud
Chud, Our Zed 2i Cam
Multi-Person Posture Detection
Wearable Design
Gemini Analysis Interface

Inspiration

"You only have ONE shot. Do NOT mess it up." I whispered that to myself before presenting at ISEF. I'd spent weeks perfecting every word. Yet the moment I stepped up, my hands buried in my pockets had already told the judges everything — before I said a thing. I prepared my script. I forgot to prepare my body. We've all been there. The cruel irony of public speaking is that the habits that betray you most are the ones you can't feel yourself making — and the solutions that exist are either a $500 coaching course or a friend brave enough to tell you the truth afterward. As engineers, we knew there had to be a better way. So we built StageWhisper, a computer vision system that watches your posture in real time and delivers you a private nudge to correct bad presenting habits. Because great speakers aren't born — they're built, one nudge at a time.

What it does

Most presentation coaches tell you what you did wrong after the fact. StageWhisper changes that by providing discreet and instant assistance that powers your confidence on stage. A computer vision system detects and analyzes your posture in real time, while an ESP32-powered wearable translates that data into gentle haptic feedback on your hand. The system also uses an AI model to take note of consistent mistakes and generates custom insights. StageWhisper delivers rapid, accurate, and intuitive feedback that helps you correct your posture in the moment and uncover easily missed bad habits over time—without ever breaking your flow.

How we built it

StageWhisper works in three layers. First, it watches. A ZED 2i stereo camera runs real-time skeleton-tracking to read your body language as you speak, pinpointing the exact moments you cross your arms, slouch, or bury your hands in your pockets. Then, it whispers. The instant our algorithm flags a bad habit, a signal is sent over WiFi to an ESP32 wearable on your hand, triggering a low-frequency haptic vibration – a private nudge only you can feel, delivered in milliseconds. Finally, it remembers. Every session is logged to an AWS cloud database, where a Gemini-powered AI analyzes your patterns over time and generates personalized coaching through a conversational interface. Over time, StageWhisper paints a picture of your habits so you can actually eliminate them.

Challenges we ran into

Building a coherent feedback pipeline was our biggest challenge. Getting continuous camera data into the cloud, structuring it meaningfully, and grounding Gemini in our database to return actionable insights meant solving several deeply connected problems at once. Networking our ESP32 wearables also proved difficult; eduroam actively blocked our microcontrollers from communicating with the rest of the system.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud of how the full system comes together in real time. The ZED 2i detects a behavior, the algorithm flags it, and within milliseconds, each presenter feels it through their wearable. Gemini reads the same database to surface patterns invisible to the presenters themselves. Supporting two presenters simultaneously is what transformed StageWhisper from a personal tool into a real coaching system.

What we learned

Building StageWhisper taught us that the hardest problems are rarely the ones you plan for. We learned how to prompt and integrate a production-grade AI model and watched firsthand how the right AI layer can transform a simple detection tool into a genuine coaching experience. For first-year engineering students, that was eye-opening. Most importantly, we learned that perseverance is the most underrated engineering skill. Every technical roadblock we hit taught us more than any clean, working system ever could.

What's next for StageWhisper

Our immediate focus is real-world testing in classrooms and offices to sharpen our AI's accuracy. On the hardware side, we're moving toward portability with a custom PCB and compact vibration motor to make StageWhisper something anyone can wear. Presentation anxiety is universal. Professional coaching is not.