Sahara (Senior Citizen Companion)

Videos

Tech Stack

React

Python

Node

SQL

MongoDB

ExpressJS

GeminiAPI

Description

SAHARA: A Personal Safety & Care Companion for the Elderly

SAHARA is an AI-powered personal care assistant designed to support senior citizens in their daily lives through safety, reminders, and companionship. It features a voice-enabled assistant that understands natural language commands and helps users set up reminders, especially for medication, which sync seamlessly with Google Calendar. The fall detection system leverages MediaPipe Pose, enabling real-time monitoring via webcam to detect abnormal posture or prolonged inactivity—key indicators of a fall. Upon detection, the system triggers alerts to designated emergency contacts. SAHARA provides a user-friendly web interface where users can start fall monitoring, interact with the assistant, and manage safety settings—ensuring both independence and care for the elderly.

Progress During Hackathon

Progress During the Hackathon During the hackathon, we started by finalizing the core idea of SAHARA and its essential features. We implemented the voice assistant using Whisper for speech recognition and Gemini for natural language understanding. Integration with Google Calendar enabled event and reminder creation through voice. For safety, we developed a real-time fall detection module using YOLOv8 pose estimation. The web interface was built with Flask, offering simple navigation and a clean design. We connected all modules seamlessly, tested functionalities, and ensured smooth emergency contact alerts. Our focus remained on accessibility, reliability, and user-centric design throughout development.

Fundraising Status

Fundraising Status Currently, SAHARA is in the prototype stage and has not secured external funding yet. We are exploring avenues for government grants, health-tech incubators, and social impact investors. The project holds strong potential for public health initiatives, elderly care programs, and smart home integrations. We aim to pursue seed funding post-hackathon to enhance hardware integration, scale the AI capabilities, and ensure wider accessibility for senior citizens across rural and urban regions.