DAVID
GONZALEZ

Project Overview

ZeitZuHelfen is a help request platform that bridges the gap between seniors needing assistance and students willing to help. An AI voice-first interface that allows seniors to request help by simply speaking, no typing, no forms, just conversation. For students, a way to engage with the Munich community while earning some rewards.

Challenge

Selecting the correct LLM for speech-to-text and data processing. Synchronizing Telegram webhooks, ngrok tunnels, and FastAPI endpoints was tricky. Ensuring a smooth user experience for seniors using voice commands required careful design and testing.

Approach

Voice-First Pipeline: Built a Telegram-based voice system where seniors send audio requests; FFmpeg handles audio conversion and Google Gemini extracts structured data and detects emergencies.
Backend Architecture: Developed a FastAPI backend using async SQLAlchemy, Pydantic validation, and environment-based configuration; runs alongside a Telegram bot server sharing a SQLite database.
Request & User Management: Created endpoints for registration, authentication, and request status transitions for seniors and students.
Student Interface: Exposed REST APIs enabling students to browse, accept, and complete help requests through a lightweight web interface.

Results & Impact

• Enabled seniors to request help using simple AI voice messages—no typing or apps required.
• Achieved reliable real-time transcription and structured data extraction using Google Gemini.
• Delivered a fully operational end-to-end system connecting seniors and student volunteers.
• Built a scalable two-server architecture with clean REST APIs for seamless student interaction.