Dhruv Krishna Vaid@dhruvkrishnavaid

**Project K.O.C.H. (Kinetic Operator for Culturomics & Handling)** is a zero-hardware-dependency, voice-first AI lab operating system and bioinformatic digital twin platform designed to streamline high-throughput microbial culturomics inside sterile laminar flow hoods. To eliminate physical touch barriers, PPE constraints, and cross-contamination risks in bio-containment environments, Project K.O.C.H. provides a completely hands-free **Voice User Interface (VUI)**. Built with adaptive LMS noise suppression (handling \~72 dB hood fan noise), specialized microbiology domain lexicons, low-latency streaming TTS (<10 ms next-frame generation latency), and prediction-based barge-in control, operators can command equipment, log observations, and query parameters naturally. Underneath the voice layer, the system features a **Microbial System Digital Twin (MSDT)** core that integrates accelerated metagenomic k-mer processing (MegIS), genome-scale metabolic modeling (GSMM), and predictive ODE growth kinetics. Operating in a closed **Observe-Fit-Predict-Steer** feedback loop, the platform analyzes growth curves and sub-millimeter micro-colony formation (<200 µm) to automatically calculate auxotrophic gaps and formulate targeted nutrient media. Every spoken note, kinetic parameter, and vision frame is streamed through a microsecond-timestamped event bus into an automated **Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN)** engine, producing audit-ready ISA-Tab and RO-Crate packages compliant with **FAIR** data principles. Project K.O.C.H. bridges physical lab workflows with autonomous biological intelligence on standard bench computers.

🌎 Online Hackathon | 💻 Month-long challenge | Dates: Sep 1–30, 2026 | 🏆 $10,000 Prize Pool ($5k cash + $5k in AAI credits) A month-long online challenge run by lablab.ai together with AssemblyAI, the Voice AI infrastructure company for builders. Every participant builds on AssemblyAI. You can join at any point — registration stays open for the whole build window, so you can start on day one or pick the project up halfway through and still submit. 🌍 Fully online hackathon. Join and build from anywhere in the world.