curiousBuddy: Stop Re-Reading. Start Explaining. 🎙️🧠

An AI study companion called curiousBuddy aims to transform passive learning into focused, conversational sessions by turning re-reading notes and tutorials into active recall. The problem it seeks to solve is that many people feel they are being productive while studying without truly understanding the material. To address this, curiousBuddy employs a Pomodoro Technique, a conversational AI named Cube, and the Feynman Technique to help users explain concepts in their own words.

Cube challenges users with probing questions, encourages the use of simple analogies, and asks follow-up questions about technical jargon. The study companion offers a precision Pomodoro timer, customizable focus periods, and breaks tailored to the user's needs. Users can interact with Cube through voice conversations, which feel natural due to ElevenLabs' Conversational AI.

After a study session, users can save their explanations as structured Markdown notes, which are automatically generated with three active-recall questions to test their understanding. The application also offers interactive quizzes for reinforcement and keeps track of study history, completed focus cycles, total study time, and daily streaks. All data is stored in browser local storage, with no external tracking.

CuriousBuddy's interface is minimal, dark-themed, and focused, with a responsive design that centers the voice interaction. The project utilizes React 19 and TypeScript for the frontend, Vite for development and build tooling, and Python with FastAPI for the backend. The conversational agent is provisioned and updated using ElevenLabs' SDK, and the entire system is deployed on Render and Vercel.