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Audio & AI Transcription

Inspecting a hive often leaves your hands full. Hive-Pal lets you speak your observations and have them transcribed and turned into structured inspection data automatically — so you can keep your eyes on the bees.

When to Use It​

  • You want a hands-free way to capture observations in the field.
  • You'd rather talk through an inspection than tap through a form.
  • You want a voice record attached to the inspection for later reference.

Recording Audio​

There are two ways to record:

  • Audio Quick Inspection (/hives/:id/inspect/audio) — a streamlined page focused on recording a voice note for a hive.
  • Within an inspection — the standard inspection form has an audio section where you can attach a recording.

When you save, the recording is uploaded with the inspection.

How Transcription & Analysis Work​

Processing happens in two stages after upload:

  1. Transcription — a worker converts your recording to text. The audio card shows the status: waiting → transcribing → completed (or failed).
  2. AI analysis — once transcribed, you can trigger analysis. The AI reads the transcript and suggests values for inspection fields (ratings, observations, actions).

You stay in control: review the transcription (edit it if needed), then merge the AI's suggestions into the inspection form. Nothing is saved to your inspection until you accept it.

Requirements​

  • File storage must be enabled (local or S3) to store recordings — see Configuration → File Storage.
  • The transcription/analysis worker must be running for processing to complete.

FAQ​

Is my audio kept? Recordings are stored in your configured file storage (your own server with local storage, or your S3 bucket). As a self-hosted app, the data stays under your control.

Can I edit the transcription? Yes. The transcribed text is editable before you run analysis or merge it into the inspection.

Do I have to accept the AI's suggestions? No. Suggestions are proposed as mergeable values — you choose what to apply to the inspection.

What if transcription fails? The audio card shows a failed state; you can retry. Check that the worker is running and file storage is configured.