rio-agent 0.9.15

Rio Agent: voice-first autonomous assistant with local and cloud runtimes

Rio Agent

One command. Full autonomy.
Rio listens, sees your screen, plans, acts, and reports — without requiring a single click from you.

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The Problem

Every AI assistant today is still a text box with better autocomplete. You remain the orchestrator: restating context after every turn, approving micro-steps, and manually bridging the gap between what you said and what needs to happen on screen. For real multi-step tasks — "draft the emails, attach the report, schedule the follow-up" — that model completely breaks.

The Solution

Rio replaces the turn-by-turn loop with a continuous multimodal control lane. The local runtime streams your voice and live screen state to a cloud agent that plans, calls tools, confirms on-screen outcomes via OCR, and speaks the result back — all in one uninterrupted flow. You give one command. Rio closes the task.

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Challenge Categories

Track	Status
✅ Live Agent	Full — voice I/O, barge-in, persona, live bidirectional streaming
✅ UI Navigator	Full — OCR-grounded screen understanding, Playwright browser control, post-action verification
🔄 Storyteller / Creative Agent	Partial — Imagen 3 + Veo 2 generation works; narrative packaging in progress

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Architecture

System Overview

flowchart TD
    U1["🎙 You speak\na command"]
    U2["🖥 Your screen\nis captured"]

    subgraph LOCAL["Your Machine  —  rio/local/"]
        L1["Silero VAD\nfilters silence"]
        L2["asyncio Orchestrator\nmain.py"]
        L3["Tool Executor\n58 tools"]
    end

    subgraph CLOUD["Google Cloud Run  —  rio-agent-45"]
        C1["FastAPI Gateway\nadk_server.py"]
        C2["Gemini 2.5 Flash Native Audio\nlive voice session · barge-in"]
        C3["ToolOrchestrator\nplans & routes tasks\n30 RPM rate limiter"]
        C4["ToolBridge\nproxies tool calls\nto your machine"]
    end

    subgraph MODELS["Gemini Models  —  via Vertex AI"]
        VAI["Vertex AI\nGoogle Cloud AI Platform"]
        M1["Gemini 3-Flash\ntask reasoning"]
        M2["Gemini Computer Use Preview\nreads screen → coordinates"]
        M3["Imagen 3 · Veo 2\ncreative generation"]
        VAI --> M1 & M2 & M3
    end

    U1 --> L1 --> L2
    U2 --> L2

    L2 -- "0x01 PCM16 audio\nover WebSocket" --> C1
    L2 -- "0x02 JPEG frames\nover WebSocket" --> C1

    C1 --> C2
    C1 --> C3
    C3 --> C4
    C3 --> VAI

    C4 -- "tool_call" --> L3
    L3 -- "tool_result" --> C4

    C3 -- "inject final result" --> C2
    C2 -- "🔊 audio response\nover WebSocket" --> L2

    L2 --> U1

Tool Execution Flow

flowchart TD
    A["You say:\n'Open Gmail and\ndraft a reply'"]
    B["Gemini 3-Flash\nbreaks task into steps"]
    C{"What kind\nof task?"}
    D["Browser tool\nPlaywright opens Gmail"]
    E["Vision tool\nGemini Computer Use Preview\nreads screen → coordinates\npyautogui clicks"]
    F["Workspace tool\nGmail API drafts reply"]
    G["Result returned\nto ToolOrchestrator"]
    H["Rio speaks:\n'Done — draft saved\nin Gmail'"]

    A --> B --> C
    C -- "browser action" --> D --> G
    C -- "UI interaction" --> E --> G
    C -- "workspace API" --> F --> G
    G --> H

Key design decision: RIO_LIVE_MODEL_TOOLS=false by default. All tool execution routes through the text orchestrator, not the native audio model — this prevents unreliable function-calling in live audio sessions while keeping voice I/O seamless.

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Multimodal Experience

Beyond the Text Box

Rio has no chat input field. Interaction is entirely voice-in / voice-out, with screen vision as passive ground truth.

Criterion	How Rio Satisfies It	Evidence in Code
Voice + Vision loop	Mic + screenshot stream run as parallel asyncio loops; neither blocks the other	local/main.py — audio_capture_loop + screen_capture_loop
Barge-in / interruption	F2 PTT clears active playback immediately; VAD speech-start also interrupts	local/push_to_talk.py, local/audio_io.py playback cancel path
Distinct persona / voice	Agent name, role, and voice ID are config-driven (RIO_VOICE, RIO_AGENT_NAME)	cloud/gemini_session.py _build_role_intro(), cloud/voice_plugin.py
Visual precision	OCR extracts on-screen text before + after every action; smart_click sends the screenshot to Gemini Computer Use Preview which returns pixel coordinates — pyautogui then executes the physical click	local/tools.py smart_click(), local/ocr.py
Live, not turn-based	Bidirectional WebSocket + background orchestrator task with inject_context() keeps the voice session alive while tools execute	cloud/adk_server.py inject_context(), cloud/tool_orchestrator.py

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Technical Implementation

Vision-Guided UI Control — Gemini Computer Use Preview

Rio uses Gemini Computer Use Preview (served via Vertex AI) as the vision intelligence layer for all UI interactions.

The pipeline works in two stages:

Screenshot (JPEG)
      │
      ▼
Gemini Computer Use Preview  (Vertex AI)
  → reads screen context
  → identifies target element
  → returns normalized (x, y) coordinates
      │
      ▼
pyautogui
  → physically moves mouse to coordinates
  → executes click / drag / scroll
      │
      ▼
Post-action screenshot + OCR
  → verifies the action had the expected effect

This is what powers smart_click(target, action) in local/tools.py — you describe the element in plain language ("the Send button", "the search bar"), the Computer Use model locates it on the actual live screen, and pyautogui executes. No hardcoded coordinates, no brittle selectors. Rio sees what a human sees.

Gemini Computer Use Preview is purpose-built for agents that interact with UIs — browsers, desktop apps, web applications — by understanding screen context rather than DOM structure. Rio uses it as the grounding layer so UI navigation degrades gracefully even when Playwright selectors can't reach an element.

Google Cloud & Gemini Integration

• Google GenAI SDK + Vertex AI used directly: genai.Client, client.aio.live.connect, types.LiveConnectConfig, types.SpeechConfig, types.AutomaticActivityDetection, types.FunctionDeclaration.from_callable
• Vertex AI is the platform backing Gemini Computer Use Preview, Gemini 3-Flash tool orchestration, Imagen 3, and Veo 2. Activated via GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=true with GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT — same SDK client, zero code changes
• Google Workspace APIs (Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Sheets, Docs) integrated via cloud/workspace_tools.py
• Cloud Run manifest: minScale=1, maxScale=5, sessionAffinity=true, timeoutSeconds=3600 — long-lived WebSocket sessions don't get killed mid-task

ToolBridge Pattern

One ToolBridge instance is created per WebSocket session. _make_tools(bridge) returns 58 async closures scoped to that session — covering file ops, shell, screen automation, browser (Playwright), window management, clipboard, web search, Google Workspace, Imagen/Veo generation, memory, and skill-specific tools (customer care, tutoring). Results are Pydantic-validated before being fed back to the orchestrator.

Reliability & Error Handling

Layer	Mechanism
Rate limiting	30 RPM token bucket, 4 degradation levels (NORMAL → CAUTION → EMERGENCY → CRITICAL)
Tool safety	Dangerous shell patterns blocklisted; write_file creates .rio.bak before every edit
Model fallback	SESSION_MODE + model env overrides; legacy relay path (RIO_USE_ADK=0) as last resort
Tool timeouts	Per-tool and global timeout (RIO_TOOLBRIDGE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS); orchestrator caps at 50 iterations
Anti-hallucination	OCR + screenshot provide UI state evidence; tool outputs treated as execution truth, injected as grounding

Config Resolution Priority

ENV variable  →  .env / config.yaml  →  code defaults

All model choices, timeouts, feature flags, and rate limits are overridable at runtime without code changes.

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Demo Scenario

Command: "Rio, open Chrome, find yesterday's unread emails, and draft a reply summary."

Time	What Happens	Observable Signal
T=0s	Voice command captured via F2 / VAD	Live transcription event in dashboard
T=3s	Rio acknowledges verbally; orchestrator begins tool routing	tool_call stream visible in dashboard tool log
T=8s	Browser opens; Gmail navigated via Playwright	Screenshot streamed; OCR extracts email subjects
T=15s	Draft composed; workspace tool writes to Gmail draft	tool_result confirms draft ID
T=20s	Rio speaks completion summary	Audio playback; dashboard shows full tool trace

No clicks. No text typed. One spoken sentence.

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Try Rio Live

rio.gowshik.in — Rio is publicly deployed and accessible right now.

Tier	Access
Free	Available immediately — try voice interaction, dashboard, and tool execution
Pro	Full autonomous task mode, screen control, and all 58 tools unlocked

For judges: The demo video walkthrough covers the full Pro-tier capability. If you'd like live Pro access during evaluation, reach out at rio.gowshik.in.

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Cloud Deployment

Field	Value
GCP Project	rio-agent-45
Cloud Run Service	rio-cloud
Region	us-central1
Container	Python 3.11-slim · non-root · healthcheck

Verify live deployment:

curl -s https://rio-landing-979788564023.us-central1.run.app/health | jq
# Expected: { "status": "ok", "service": "rio-cloud", "backend": "...", "model": "..." }

GCP services used: Cloud Run · Gemini Live API · Vertex AI (Gemini Computer Use Preview · Gemini 3-Flash · Imagen 3 · Veo 2) · Secret Manager (gemini-api-key) · Google Workspace APIs

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Running Rio Locally

Prerequisites

Requirement	Version	Notes
Python	3.11+	python --version to verify
Git	any	for cloning
Gemini API Key	—	Get one here
Chrome / Chromium	any	required for browser automation tools
Microphone	—	any system mic works

Step 1 — Clone

git clone https://github.com/Gowshik-S/Gemini-Live-Agent
cd Gemini-Live-Agent

Step 2 — Install Dependencies

cd rio

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv .venv

# Activate
source .venv/bin/activate       # Linux / macOS
.venv\Scripts\activate          # Windows

# Install
pip install -r requirements.txt

Optional: install dev dependencies for running tests

pip install -r requirements-dev.txt

Step 3 — Configure API Key

echo "GEMINI_API_KEY=your_key_here" > cloud/.env

That's the only required environment variable to get started. Everything else resolves from rio/config.yaml defaults.

Optional overrides (add to cloud/.env as needed):

GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=your-gcp-project-id   # required for Vertex AI path
GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=true             # activate Vertex AI backend
SESSION_MODE=live                           # "live" (audio) or "text"
RIO_VOICE=Puck                             # agent voice identity
RIO_WS_TOKEN=secret                        # WebSocket auth token

Step 4 — Start the Cloud Relay

The cloud relay is the FastAPI server that hosts the Gemini Live session, orchestrator, and tool bridge. In production this runs on Cloud Run — locally it runs on port 8080.

# Linux / macOS
cd rio/setup && ./run-cloud.sh

# Windows
cd rio\setup && run-cloud.bat

# Or directly
cd rio && uvicorn cloud.adk_server:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080

Confirm it's up:

curl http://localhost:8080/health
# {"status":"ok","service":"rio-cloud","backend":"...","model":"..."}

Dashboard: http://localhost:8080/dashboard

Step 5 — Start the Local Runtime

The local runtime handles mic capture, screen capture, VAD, and local tool execution. It connects to the relay over WebSocket.

# Linux / macOS
cd rio/setup && ./run-local.sh

# Windows
cd rio\setup && run-local.bat

# Or directly
cd rio/local && python main.py

Once both are running, press F2 and speak a command.

Step 6 — Verify End-to-End

# Run the full diagnostic suite
python -m rio.cli doctor --test-api

This checks: config loading, API connectivity, rate limiter, model routing, tool imports, dashboard files, and wire protocol constants. Optional dependencies (ChromaDB, Playwright) are reported as skipped, not failed, if not installed.

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One-Line Install (Alternative)

powershell -c "irm https://rio.gowshik.in/install.ps1 | iex"

curl -fsSL https://rio.gowshik.in/install.sh | bash

Or install directly from PyPI:

pipx install rio-agent
# or
python -m pip install --user rio-agent

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Cloud Run Deployment

The repo ships a deploy script that builds and pushes the container, then updates the Cloud Run service.

Prerequisites: gcloud CLI authenticated · Cloud Run + Cloud Build + Secret Manager APIs enabled · a secret named gemini-api-key in Secret Manager.

cd Rio-Agent/rio
chmod +x deploy.sh
./deploy.sh

The script outputs the HTTP and WebSocket URLs. Paste the WebSocket URL into rio/config.yaml:

rio:
  cloud_url: wss://<your-cloud-run-url>/ws/rio/live

Then run the local runtime pointing at the deployed relay — no other changes needed.

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Agent & Tool Breakdown

Agents

Agent	Model	Role
Task Executor	Gemini 3-Flash	Multi-step general task orchestration
Code Agent	Gemini 3-Flash	File editing, shell, git
Computer Use Agent	Gemini Computer Use Preview (Vertex AI)	Screen reading, coordinate grounding, GUI automation
Research Agent	Gemini 2.5-Pro	Deep reasoning, analysis
Creative Agent	Imagen 3 + Veo 2 (Vertex AI)	Image and video generation

Tool Categories (58 total)

File ops · Shell & process · Screen capture · Screen automation · Vision-guided click · Window management · Browser (Playwright) · Web search/fetch · Memory & notes · Google Workspace · Creative (Imagen/Veo) · Customer care skill · Tutoring skill

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Dashboard

Rio ships a real-time operational dashboard served by the cloud relay at http://localhost:8080/dashboard/ (or your Cloud Run URL in production).

Page	URL	Purpose
Main dashboard	/dashboard/	Live transcript, tool log, health gauges, agent status
Chat	/dashboard/chat.html	Text-mode interaction with Rio
Setup	/dashboard/setup.html	Configure skills, profiles, API keys, agent behavior

What the Dashboard Shows

Live Transcript stream — every utterance and Rio's responses appear in real time via /ws/dashboard WebSocket. You can see exactly what Rio heard and what it decided.

Tool log — every tool_call and tool_result is correlated and displayed with timing. Judges can watch Rio's execution trace — open Gmail, extract text, draft reply — step by step as it happens.

Health gauges — RPM usage, degradation level, active session state, and model routing decisions are surfaced live. If the rate limiter kicks in, the gauge shows it.

Schedules — view and manage any scheduled or trigger-based tasks Rio has queued.

Setup page — first-run configuration UI. Set your Gemini API key, choose agent skills (Customer Care / Tutor), configure voice, and save profile JSON — all without touching config files.

The dashboard is pure static HTML/CSS/JS served directly by FastAPI — no separate frontend server needed. It connects to the relay over WebSocket and polls HTTP config endpoints for state.

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Runtime Controls

Key	Action
F2	Push-to-talk — hold to speak, release to send; also interrupts active playback
F3	Mute toggle
F4	Toggle proactive mode — Rio watches and offers help unprompted
F5	Screen mode — cycle between on-demand and autonomous capture
F6	Live mode — continuous monitoring + wake word ("Hey Rio")
F7	Live translation toggle — real-time bidirectional speech translation
F8	Current task status — speak or display active task progress

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Known Limitations

• Installer shell PATH propagation — after pipx/pip --user install, some shells require reopening terminal before rio command is available.
• A2A protocol — no Agent Cards or remote agent discovery yet. [In Progress]
• pyautogui → Playwright unification still expanding. [In Progress]
• React dashboard planned; current UI is static HTML/JS served by FastAPI. [In Progress]
• Desktop automation on Wayland and elevated/admin windows is inherently less reliable than standard Windows desktop.

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Cloud relay	FastAPI · uvicorn · websockets · structlog
AI / Gemini	google-genai SDK · Vertex AI · Live API · Gemini 2.5 Flash Native Audio · Gemini 3-Flash · Gemini Computer Use Preview
Audio	sounddevice · Silero VAD · CPU PyTorch
Vision	mss · Pillow · RapidOCR (ONNX) · Gemini Computer Model
Automation	pyautogui · pygetwindow · Playwright
Memory	SQLite · ChromaDB · Gemini Text Embeddings 2 (text-embedding-004)
Deployment	Cloud Run · Docker (Python 3.11-slim)

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License & Contact

License: see LICENSE in repository root.
GitHub: Gowshik-S/Gemini-Live-Agent — open an issue for deployment support or collaboration.