FloatChat - AI-Powered Conversational Interface for ARGO Ocean Data

SIH 25 Problem Statement ID: 25040
Organization: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) - Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

🌊 Overview

FloatChat is an enterprise-grade AI-powered conversational system that democratizes access to ARGO oceanographic data through natural language processing and voice interaction. Users can explore complex ocean datasets through intuitive conversations in multiple languages (English/Hindi).

Key Features

• 🤖 AI-Powered Chat: Natural language queries using Google Gemini Studio API
• 🎤 Voice Interface: Multilingual voice input/output with real-time processing
• 🗺️ Interactive Visualizations: Geospatial maps and scientific charts
• 📊 6-Year Dataset: 2,056 NetCDF files (9.77GB) from 2020-2025
• 🔍 RAG Pipeline: Vector similarity search with FAISS/ChromaDB
• 🌐 Multilingual: Support for English, Hindi, and regional languages
• 📈 Real-time Analytics: Temporal trend analysis and pattern recognition

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• PostgreSQL 15+ with PostGIS
• Redis 6+
• Docker & Docker Compose

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/your-org/floatchat.git
cd floatchat

2. Set up virtual environment

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Linux/Mac
# venv\Scripts\activate   # Windows

3. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install -r requirements-dev.txt  # For development

4. Configure environment

cp env.example .env
# Edit .env with your API keys and database credentials

5. Start services

docker-compose up -d postgres redis

6. Initialize database

python scripts/init_database.py
python scripts/load_sample_data.py

7. Run the application

uvicorn app.main:app --reload --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

8. Access the application

• API Documentation: http://localhost:8000/docs
• Frontend Interface: http://localhost:8501
• Health Check: http://localhost:8000/health

🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         FloatChat System                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Frontend Layer (Streamlit/Dash)                               │
│  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐ │
│  │   Voice UI      │  │   Chat Widget   │  │  Visualization  │ │
│  │  - Microphone   │  │  - Text Input   │  │  - Maps         │ │
│  │  - Speaker      │  │  - History      │  │  - Charts       │ │
│  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  API Gateway Layer (FastAPI)                                   │
│  /api/chat | /api/voice/* | /api/floats | /api/visualize       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  AI Processing Layer                                            │
│  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐ │
│  │  Speech Engine  │  │   Gemini LLM    │  │   RAG Pipeline  │ │
│  │  - STT/TTS      │  │  - Query Parse  │  │  - Vector DB    │ │
│  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Data Layer                                                     │
│  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐ │
│  │   PostgreSQL    │  │   Vector DB     │  │   ARGO Data     │ │
│  │  + PostGIS      │  │  FAISS/Chroma   │  │   2,056 Files   │ │
│  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

📊 Dataset

ARGO Float Data (2020-2025)

• Files: 2,056 NetCDF files
• Size: 9.77 GB
• Coverage: Daily ocean profiles
• Parameters: Temperature, Salinity, Pressure, BGC data
• Regions: Focus on Indian Ocean with global coverage

Example Queries

• "Show me temperature trends in Arabian Sea over the last 3 years"
• "Compare salinity patterns between 2020 and 2024 monsoon seasons"
• "मुझे बंगाल की खाड़ी में तापमान प्रोफाइल दिखाओ" (Hindi)
• "What were ocean conditions during Cyclone Amphan in 2020?"

🛠️ Development

Project Structure

floatchat/
├── app/                          # Main application code
│   ├── main.py                   # FastAPI app entry point
│   ├── core/                     # Core configuration
│   ├── api/                      # API routes
│   ├── services/                 # Business logic
│   ├── models/                   # Data models
│   └── utils/                    # Utilities
├── frontend/                     # Frontend application
├── data/                         # Data storage
├── scripts/                      # Utility scripts
├── tests/                        # Test suite
├── docs/                         # Documentation
├── docker/                       # Docker configurations
└── .github/                      # CI/CD workflows

Development Commands

# Run tests
pytest tests/ -v --cov=app

# Code formatting
black app/ tests/
isort app/ tests/

# Linting
flake8 app/ tests/
mypy app/

# Security scan
bandit -r app/
safety check

# Start development server
uvicorn app.main:app --reload

# Database migrations
alembic upgrade head

# Load test data
python scripts/load_sample_data.py

API Endpoints

Chat & Conversation

• POST /api/v1/chat/query - Process natural language queries
• GET /api/v1/chat/history - Retrieve conversation history
• POST /api/v1/chat/feedback - Submit user feedback

Voice Processing

• POST /api/v1/voice/transcribe - Speech-to-text conversion
• POST /api/v1/voice/synthesize - Text-to-speech generation
• GET /api/v1/voice/languages - Supported languages

ARGO Float Data

• GET /api/v1/floats/search - Search floats by criteria
• GET /api/v1/floats/{float_id} - Get specific float data
• GET /api/v1/floats/{float_id}/profiles - Get float profiles

Data Visualization

• POST /api/v1/visualize/map - Generate map visualizations
• POST /api/v1/visualize/profile - Create profile plots
• POST /api/v1/visualize/timeseries - Time-series charts

🧪 Testing

Test Categories

• Unit Tests: Fast, isolated component tests
• Integration Tests: Component interaction tests
• E2E Tests: End-to-end workflow validation
• Performance Tests: Load and stress testing

Running Tests

# All tests
pytest

# Specific test category
pytest tests/unit/
pytest tests/integration/
pytest tests/e2e/

# With coverage
pytest --cov=app --cov-report=html

# Performance tests
pytest tests/performance/ -v

🚀 Deployment

Docker Deployment

# Build and run
docker-compose up -d

# Scale services
docker-compose up -d --scale app=3

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f app

Production Deployment

# Build production image
docker build -t floatchat:latest .

# Deploy to Railway/Render
# See deployment documentation in docs/deployment/

📚 Documentation

• API Documentation - Comprehensive API reference
• User Guide - End-user documentation
• Developer Guide - Development setup and guidelines
• Deployment Guide - Production deployment instructions

🔒 Security

• JWT-based authentication
• API rate limiting
• Input validation and sanitization
• HTTPS enforcement
• Security headers (CSP, HSTS, etc.)
• SQL injection prevention

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• INCOIS for oceanographic data and domain expertise
• ARGO Program for global ocean observation data
• Google Gemini for AI/LLM capabilities
• Open Source Community for excellent tools and libraries

📞 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Documentation: Project Wiki
• Email: floatchat-support@your-org.com

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Built with ❤️ for the oceanographic community and Smart India Hackathon 2025