TobyTalks

Inspiration for creating Toby Talks surfaced when the Covid-19 pandemic caused social distancing in school and a reduction in nuanced chatting. For a lot of kids they don't get the valuable social chatter that happens naturally at school. We used Google's Dialogueflow combined with a python backend to create a conversational companion for younger kids to develop valuable speaking skills. Companionship and chatter can be found in the most mysterious of places, and during these unprecedented times AI can comfort and help connect those struggling with the resources they most need.

Our team learned more about Google Cloud services and through Dialogueflow essentials this allowed us to formulate an AI companion named Toby. Utilizing python skills our team learned new techniques to implement file transfer protocols to give Toby the needed resources for performance.

Four beginners joined together to create a first time submission to the KnightHacks Hackathon. Some of the challenges faced during this competition were intellectual and time sensitive in nature. Working together and making the time to collaborate during a busy life schedule was tough, but overcome by sharing knowledge and resources. Thankful for the freedom of information and those who mentored our team.

Built With

blood/sweat/tears
dialogueflow
ngrok
python
uvicorn

Submitted to

Knight Hacks

Created by

I founded the team to resolve the issues caused by the lack of social interaction during lockdown.

I wrote the Python back-end that handles the story request. I set up the parsing of the book and connected the webhooks to an ngrok/uvicorn server I'm hosting on my computer.

aidan-ahern Ahern
AI/ML Enthusiast
I worked on the Dialogue Flow portion of this project. Creating intents and responses for our AI Toby. I wrote documentation and exposition for project. Also assisted in creation of labels, marketing, and planning.

Jacob Strange
A dynamic figure
I worked on the front-end development, specifically within dialogue flow implementing items into the "small talk" feature. Although I had no prior experience with python or Dialogueflow, I learned a lot and am happy I got to be a apart of this team for my first hackathon. My teammates were super helpful and patient, and I'm glad that we all got to be on a team together!

Nicole Estelle Wright
I designed the python back-end with Aidan that allowed story books to be parsed. Additionally, I contributed to the Dialogue Flow portion by adding small talk responses to our AI. I also exposed my localhost using ngrok to test TobyTalks as well.

Adam Pellot