This is a submission for the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge Week 4: Ghost in the Machine
🕯️ Velaria — A Ghost in the Machine
What I Built
I built Velaria, a privacy-focused remembrance application that helps people preserve meaningful memories of the people they care about.
The idea behind Velaria is simple: even when someone is no longer physically present, their stories, photographs, and voice can continue to live on.
Velaria allows users to:
- Generate warm and meaningful remembrances using AI.
- Save and revisit memories.
- Attach photographs to memories.
- Record and preserve voice notes.
- Access saved memories without an internet connection.
I interpreted the Ghost in the Machine theme as the idea of preserving a person's presence through the memories they leave behind. Velaria brings together local AI, personal stories, photos, and voice recordings to create a space where those memories can remain accessible.
Demo
Project repository:
https://github.com/NitinShekhar27/velaria
I tested the main features of Velaria, including generating remembrances, saving memories, attaching photos, recording voice notes, and accessing the application offline.
Code
🔗 GitHub Repository:
https://github.com/NitinShekhar27/velaria
Velaria is an open-source project. The repository contains the application code and setup instructions.
How I Built It
I built Velaria using Python and integrated a locally running AI model through Ollama.
The application uses the llama3.2:3b model for remembrance generation. Instead of depending on a cloud-based AI API, Velaria uses local inference on the user's computer.
The main technologies used are:
- Python — Application logic
- Ollama — Running the AI model locally
- Llama 3.2 (3B) — Local AI remembrance generation
- Local storage — Saving memories and their attachments
I tested the application with sample memories and confirmed that the main features continued to work after disconnecting from the internet.
Why Does Open Innovation Matter?
Open innovation made it possible for me to build an AI-powered application without depending on a closed, cloud-based AI service.
Using an open-weight model through Ollama gave me the opportunity to experiment with local AI and understand how AI can be integrated into a real application.
For a project like Velaria, local AI is especially meaningful because memories can be personal. Keeping AI generation and saved content on the user's own computer helps support a more privacy-focused experience.
Open innovation also makes it easier for other developers to explore the project, learn from it, and contribute improvements.
The Spirit of It
Velaria was inspired by the idea that memories can keep a person's presence alive in our everyday lives.
A photograph can remind us of a moment. A voice recording can preserve the way someone spoke. A story can bring back a feeling that we thought we had forgotten.
With Velaria, I wanted to explore how local AI could help preserve these meaningful pieces of the past.
The goal is not to replace real memories or relationships, but to create a simple digital space where stories, photos, and voices can be kept and revisited.
Prize Categories
I am submitting Velaria for the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge Week 4: Ghost in the Machine.
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