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Symposium Notes - Project Overview

Inspiration

I've wanted to create this project since before coming to RIT. Back in high school, I would’ve loved to have a tool like this, especially for English and social studies, where lectures were a big part of learning. I always struggled with juggling note-taking and actively listening, often missing key points because I was too busy writing.

Originally, I planned to use Glean, a software with similar functionality. However, I discovered that it doesn’t allow data exports—even after emailing their support team back in October, I never received a response. So, I figured why not build it myself?

What It Does

Live Audio Recording & Segmentation

Users can start and stop recording at any time.
The system automatically detects speech and segments recordings based on pauses.
Each segment is stored for better organization and transcription.

AI Transcription & Summarization

Converts recorded audio into text using OpenAI’s Whisper API.
Generates AI-powered summaries in bullet points.
Users can customize how many bullet points they want.

Notes & Transcript Management

Locally stored notes that can be edited, exported, or cleared anytime.
Separate views for transcripts and notes for a better experience.
Users can delete individual notes or clear all when needed.

Customizable Settings

Users can fine-tune audio processing settings, including:
- Calibration time, silence detection, and segment length.
OpenAI API key is stored securely in local storage.

AI Chat Assistant

A floating chat assistant that answers follow-up questions about notes.
Uses transcript context to generate relevant responses.
Designed with a modern, sleek chat interface.

Import/Export Functionality

Users can import/export notes and transcripts as .txt files.
Enables easy backups and sharing of information.

Challenges We Ran Into

Limited experience with JavaScript and CSS made certain features tricky.
The biggest challenge was dividing tasks efficiently—we had to strategize how to integrate our individual work without stepping on each other’s toes.

Accomplishments We’re Proud Of

The system is fully functional, and we were able to complete it in time for the hackathon.
We built a working AI-powered tool in such a short time.
Working as a team was a fun and rewarding experience.

What We Learned

Don’t leave the DevPost submission for the last minute.
Collaborating on a team project can be challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding.
Helping and teaching each other made the experience even more valuable.

What’s Next for Symposium Notes?

Hosting on a free-tier platform so users can access it with their own OpenAI API key.
Adding folders to organize notes by subject.
Uploading PDFs and presentations so AI can follow along and provide more detailed notes.

This is just the beginning, and we’re excited to see how this tool evolves.