StudyPal

Inspiration

We noticed that many students struggle to keep up with dense study materials and long lectures, especially those with visual impairments or limited study time. We wanted to create a single platform that makes learning more accessible, interactive, and fun where students can read, listen, and revise all in one place. That’s how StudyPal was born to make AI your true study companion.

What it does

StudyPal uses Google Gemini to read and summarize textbooks or notes into simple, easy-to-understand content. It then generates flashcards and quizzes automatically to help with active learning. With ElevenLabs, these summaries are converted into realistic, multilingual audio, enabling even visually impaired users to learn through voice in their local language. Students can also join course-based community pages to discuss and collaborate using their user and course IDs.

How we built it

We built the backend using FastAPI for speed and scalability, and ReactJS for an intuitive, responsive frontend.

Integrated Google Gemini API for natural language understanding and summarization.
Used ElevenLabs API for realistic, multilingual audio generation.
Designed a PostgreSQL database to store users, courses, and community interactions.

Challenges we ran into

Ensuring seamless communication between Gemini and ElevenLabs APIs.
Handling long text input and managing token limits efficiently.
Generating meaningful quiz questions automatically while maintaining context accuracy.
Designing accessibility-first UI for visually impaired learners.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a working prototype that combines AI, voice, and community learning.
Enabled multilingual text-to-speech, making StudyPal accessible to a global audience.
Created an inclusive learning experience that helps both sighted and visually impaired students study smarter.
Integrated multiple AI systems smoothly under one unified platform.

What we learned

We learned how to combine different AI technologies effectively and optimize API interactions. We also discovered the importance of designing for accessibility and inclusion, not just functionality. The project deepened our understanding of prompt engineering, frontend-backend integration, and AI-driven UX design.

What's next for StudyPal

We plan to add personalized learning analytics that track progress and recommend study paths using AI. We’ll also introduce voice-based Q&A, so students can ask questions and get spoken answers instantly. In the future, we aim to integrate with RIT MyCourses/Google Classroom to bring StudyPal into real academic environments and empower millions of learners globally.