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Ritanshu
Ritanshu

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🚀 JARVIS — My Journey of Building a Voice-First, Action-Taking Desktop Assistant

🚀 JARVIS — My Journey of Building a Voice-First, Action-Taking Desktop Assistant

💡 How It All Started

It began with one question:

Why are we still doing boring, repetitive computer tasks the hard way?

I was tired of:

  • Typing long emails
  • Jumping between browser tabs
  • Spending an hour in meetings for two minutes of useful info
  • Scrolling through endless notifications hoping not to miss something urgent

I imagined an assistant that could do the work, not just answer questions — a voice-first, privacy-focused agent that listens, reasons, and executes.

That idea became JARVIS.

🎯 The Vision

JARVIS isn’t just a chatbot. It’s a voice-first productivity companion that:

  • Saves hours of repetitive work
  • Collapses multi-step workflows into one spoken request
  • Makes computers usable for everyone — including people who can’t rely on a keyboard or mouse

“JARVIS is your AI partner that attends meetings, prioritizes your emails, fixes your code, and handles the busywork — so you can focus on what matters.”

🌟 Hero Features

1️⃣ Attend Meetings & Summarize

  • Joins Zoom, Meet, or Teams calls automatically
  • Transcribes conversations in real time with Whisper / Vosk
  • Extracts speakers, action items, owners, and deadlines
  • Generates a 30-second briefing so you act immediately

Example Output:

  • Alice → finish UI design by Thursday
  • Bob → fix API bug before release
  • Me → prepare demo slides for Friday

2️⃣ Email Digest & Prioritization

  • Scans inbox and ranks emails by urgency
  • Summarizes top messages and drafts replies
  • Flags deadlines and schedules follow-ups ➡️ No more inbox panic.

3️⃣ Describe My Screen (Accessibility + Dev Tool)

  • Reads out unread counts and actionable prompts for visually impaired users
  • Detects error logs and suggests fixes for developers ➡️ Improves accessibility and speeds debugging.

4️⃣ Quick Info & Seamless Browsing

Ask “Jarvis, what is backpropagation?” — get an instant answer without leaving your IDE or video call.

5️⃣ Hands-Free Device Controls

  • Adjust volume, brightness, or switch apps with a voice command
  • Control Android via ADB ➡️ Perfect for presentations or multitasking.

6️⃣ Writing & Productivity

  • Drafts formatted docs, emails, or meeting notes
  • Auto-names and files them correctly ➡️ Less admin, more creativity.

7️⃣ Smart Communication

  • Sends Slack/WhatsApp messages, schedules calls, books meetings
  • Keeps context for seamless follow-ups.

8️⃣ Screen Understanding (Extended)

  • Takes screenshots → diagnoses issues → pastes fixes ➡️ Eliminates tedious debugging loops.

9️⃣ Learning & Life-Assist

  • Reads PDFs, recipes, or tutorials step-by-step
  • Quizzes you hands-free while cooking or coding.

🔟 Time & Device Sync

  • Voice-controlled reminders, alarms, and events
  • Cross-device sync with end-to-end encryption.

🔧 Building JARVIS

Architecture

  • Local-first stack: Ollama LLMs, Whisper & Vosk for ASR
  • Privacy model: Default local processing, ephemeral transcripts, encrypted sync
  • Agents: Listener → Reasoner → Action → Accessibility → Connector
  • Desktop app: Tray daemon + lightweight UI
  • Plugin model: Meeting → Summary → Create Jira Ticket

Data Flow: Voice → Action

  1. Wake word detection
  2. Audio capture
  3. Transcription (Whisper/Vosk)
  4. Intent parsing (Ollama)
  5. Secure action plan
  6. Execution via OS APIs & connectors
  7. Confirmation + optional logging

⚠️ Challenges Along the Way

  • Robust speech recognition in noisy rooms
  • Diarization for multiple speakers
  • Balancing privacy (local) vs. capability (cloud)
  • Undo buffer for safe actions
  • Integrating apps like WhatsApp or Slack
  • Designing for low-vision users

🏆 Wins I’m Proud Of

  • Meeting automation → action items in under a minute
  • Local-first privacy with offline resilience
  • Accessibility support for blind & motor-impaired users
  • Modular plugin architecture
  • Real workflows handled by JARVIS — not just demos!

📚 Lessons Learned

  • Automation should collapse workflows, not add steps
  • Privacy by default builds trust
  • Accessibility improves UX for everyone
  • Local LLMs shine at intent; cloud excels at heavy reasoning
  • Clear permissions, logs, and undo features inspire confidence

🔭 What’s Next

Near Term

  • IDE integration (PR summaries, auto-tests)
  • Meeting → Jira/GitHub automation
  • Encrypted sync across devices

Long Term

  • Proactive assistance & pattern detection
  • Multi-modal context (webcam + screen)
  • Voice biometrics for personalization
  • Enterprise features: RBAC, dashboards, analytics

Business

  • SaaS + on-prem options
  • Freemium → Pro → Enterprise tiers
  • Target markets: accessibility, developer productivity, knowledge work

🛠️ Tech Stack

  • ASR: Whisper, Vosk
  • LLMs: Ollama (local), GPT (optional)
  • Framework: Custom modular agent system
  • Integrations: Gmail, Calendar, Slack, WhatsApp, IDEs, ADB
  • Desktop: Electron/Qt HUD + tray daemon
  • Accessibility: OCR engines, semantic UI parsers
  • Security: End-to-end encryption, ephemeral transcripts

🌍 Why JARVIS Matters

  • Turns meetings into clear, actionable notes
  • Surfaces urgent emails without the clutter
  • Helps anyone — including people with disabilities — work faster
  • Speeds up debugging and reduces friction everywhere

🔗 Useful Links

📢 Submission for the Kiro Social Blitz Prize

To enter, I’m posting about my favorite thing about Kiro — how its code generation and hooks supercharged my development workflow — on social media (X/LinkedIn/IG/BlueSky).

I’m tagging @kirodotdev and using the hashtag #hookedonkiro.

📝 Submission for the Kiro Bonus Blog Prize

I’m also submitting this blog post on dev.to/kirodotdev with the hashtag #kiro so others can see how Kiro changed the way I approach development.

💬 Tagging: @kirodotdev

🔖 Hashtags: #kiro #hookedonkiro

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