AI experiment · 2025
DEX
A Windows desktop assistant with a floating orb instead of a chat window. Wake word, speech recognition, command routing and spoken reply.
- Role
- Solo build: interaction design, desktop UI, voice pipeline
- Stack
- Python · PySide6 · Vosk · Groq
- Year
- 2025
- Status
- Paused, not finished. The language model the pipeline depended on was deprecated, so the project stopped rather than silently degrading. Model fallback and AI-routed commands were planned, not built.
Purpose
Most AI tools assume you will open a browser and type. DEX was an attempt to find out what a desktop assistant feels like when it lives on the desktop: always present, summoned by voice, and able to act rather than only answer.
What was built
- Floating, always-on-top orb interface built with PySide6
- Wake-word activation through Vosk offline speech recognition
- Command routing for desktop actions alongside general questions
- Spoken responses through a text-to-speech layer
Decisions
A shape, not a chat box
The orb exists to make the assistant feel ambient. It is small, draggable and stays out of the way until it is spoken to, a deliberate contrast with full-panel chat interfaces.
Stopping was the honest option
When the underlying model was retired, the voice pipeline broke. Rather than swap in a model the routing logic was not designed for, the project was parked with its limitations written down.
Questions about this project? Email me.