BonziAssist: Your New (Old) Assistant!

This project uses the TETYYS generator. Also see: BonziBuddy-TTS.

⚠️ Do Not Abuse the API ⚠️

BonziAssist revives the classic BonziBuddy assistant in a modern, voice-activated form, allowing you to interact with an AI through spoken commands. Here’s a bit more about what makes BonziAssist special and how to use it.

Features

• Voice Activation: Simply say "Bonzi" and once you hear Bonzi confirm he's listening, you're ready to go!
• Text-to-Speech: Utilizes the nostalgic BonziBuddy voice for responses, thanks to the TETYYS SAPI4 API.
• Real-Time Interaction: Communicate in real-time, with responses generated through a lightweight LLM.

Installation

1. Clone this repository.
2. Ensure you have Python and Visual CPP Build Tools. installed, and then run pip install -r requirements.txt to install the necessary packages.
3. Set up your environment variables. Edit the .env.example file in helpers\ and follow the instructions there. [INSTRUCTIONS='Remove this line of instructions. Fill out the info below. Rename this file, and remove the .example. It should just be ".env" now.']

Usage

To start BonziAssist:

python main.py

You will be prompted to configure your microphone settings upon the first run or if you choose to be prompted every time by the configuration settings.

TODO

• Add LiteLLM: Enable Bonzi to talk back to you
• HIGH PRIO: Improve STT Accuracy: Potentially use a bigger VOSK model
• Improve STT Speed: Potentially use a different package
• Improve TTS Speed: Find a way to run locally for quicker responses
• Offline Functionality: Use fully offline APIs such as Ollama for those with beefier computers
• Add Voice Volume Control
• Add simple windows functions: Such as Media control, opening apps, etc.
• Add interruption support: Potentially via a hotkey (press esc to interrupt)
• Add fancy splash screen

Continuous goals

• When VOSK misunderstands, add to the list of phrases Bonzi will respond to
• Update system prompt to give more personality and functionality
• Optimize Performance

Contributors are welcome to help with these tasks. If you are interested, please fork the repository, make your changes, and submit a pull request. If you have any questions, feel free to open an issue and ask away!

How it Works

1. Listening: The system starts by listening for the activation word "Bonzi". Once heard, it's ready to receive commands.
2. Processing: Speech is converted to text and processed by an LLM to understand the context and generate an appropriate response.
3. Responding: The response is then converted to speech using the SAPI4 API, maintaining the classic voice of BonziBuddy.

Contributing

First of all, I appreciate anyone being excited about this project. That being said, contributions are welcome! For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Acknowledgments

• SAPI4: The Text-to-Speech engine that allows BonziAssist to speak with the classic BonziBuddy voice. Visit TETYYS's online SAPI4.
• BonziBuddy-TTS GitHub Project: Inspired the integration of the BonziBuddy voice into this project. View the repository.
• Vosk Speech Recognition: Provides the voice recognition capabilities required to interpret user commands. Learn more about Vosk.
• LitteLLM: For processing natural language and generating responses. Their LLM services form the backbone of BonziAssist's AI capabilities.
• SimpleAudio: Used for playing back audio responses generated by the system.
• PyAudio: Handles microphone input and audio stream management.
• Python-dotenv: For managing environment variables in a .env file, which helps secure API keys and other sensitive settings.
• GitHub Community: For all the open-source contributors who have developed libraries and tools that made this project feasible.