KinGuard: Ambient Cognitive Care & Verification Protocol

Grand Prize Submission for the Amazon Developer Hackathon: Build, Ship, Shape (Devpost 2026)
Primary Track: Alexa+ (Self-Hosted MCP Server & Agent Skill)
Mini-Challenges: AWS Builder Challenge & Open Source Mini Challenge

Executive Summary

Over 55 million elderly adults worldwide live independently while coping with early-stage cognitive impairment, memory lapses, or dementia. Traditional voice assistants repeatedly fail them:

• When unfamiliar visitors knock at the front door, seniors experience acute anxiety or open the door to utility scammers and aggressive solicitors.

• When they forget whether they took their morning heart medications, they repeatedly question themselves or make panic calls to stressed family members.

• Standard assistants argue with them ("You already asked me that 5 minutes ago"), which directly violates clinical Validation Therapy guidelines and elevates confusion.

KinGuard is an ambient cognitive guardrail protocol that bridges Alexa+, Ring smart doorbells, and Amazon Bedrock. By deploying a self-hosted Model Context Protocol (MCP) server over Streamable HTTP and Server-Sent Events (SSE), KinGuard equips Alexa+ with real-time verifiable home telemetry to gently ground seniors in reality, verify porch visitors, speak through the porch intercom, and keep remote family caregivers informed via Amazon SNS.

Related MCP server: Hearth v2

System Architecture

                                 ┌─────────────────────────┐
                                 │   Elderly Resident      │
                                 │    (Martha Miller)      │
                                 └────────────┬────────────┘
                                              │ Natural Voice Query
                                              ▼
                             ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
                             │    Alexa+ Ambient Assistant     │
                             │  (Speech Synthesis / Web Mic)   │
                             └────────────────┬────────────────┘
                                              │
                      Streamable HTTP / SSE   │ (Spec 2025-11-25)
                      JSON-RPC 2.0 Over /mcp  │
                                              ▼
 ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │                              KinGuard Core MCP Server                                  │
 │                                (FastAPI & Uvicorn)                                     │
 ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
 │  Declared MCP Tools:                                                                   │
 │   • kinguard_get_door_snapshot       -> Inspects Ring porch feed & AI badge detection │
 │   • kinguard_respond_door_visitor    -> 2-way TTS intercom dispatch to porch speaker   │
 │   • kinguard_verify_medication_state -> Inspects smart pill dispenser tray timestamps  │
 │   • kinguard_verify_home_safety      -> Verifies stove sensors, locks & motion vitals  │
 │   • kinguard_escalate_caregiver      -> Dispatches emergency SMS to family caregivers  │
 └─────────────────┬──────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬─────────────┘
                   │                          │                             │
                   ▼                          ▼                             ▼
   ┌───────────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────────┐
   │        Amazon Bedrock         │ │  Ring Porch Feed  │ │         Amazon SNS          │
   │   (Claude 3.5 Sonnet/Haiku)   │ │  & Intercom TTS   │ │   & Custom EventBridge Bus  │
   │  Enforces Clinical Validation │ │ Live camera HUD   │ │ Dispatches SMS to caregiver │
   │  Therapy & Ambient Grounding  │ │ & 2-way intercom  │ │ (Sarah Miller: 555-019-2831)│
   └───────────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────┘

Core Capabilities

1. Context-Aware Ring Doorbell Escort

• When someone knocks or rings the chime, Martha simply asks: "Alexa, who is at the front door?"

• KinGuard calls kinguard_get_door_snapshot via MCP:

  • Verified Courier: Confirms Amazon Prime Logistics delivery with parcel ID, reassures Martha that the deadbolt is securely locked, and offers to have the parcel placed on the porch.

  • Unverified Stranger: Identifies uncredentialed solicitors, reassures Martha that she is safe inside, and offers to take a message through the intercom.

  • Friendly Neighbor: Detects verified neighbor Tom Higgins, providing familiar reassurance.

• Martha responds: "Tell them to leave it on the porch." Alexa+ dispatches kinguard_respond_door_visitor, broadcasting a calming synthesized TTS voice through the Ring porch speaker: "Please leave the parcel by the front door. Martha is resting inside. Thank you!"

2. Ambient Medication Grounding

• Martha asks: "Did I take my blood pressure pills today?"

• Instead of hallucinating, KinGuard executes kinguard_verify_medication_state to inspect the smart pill dispenser tray:

  • If Taken: "Yes Martha, you're all set! You took your Metoprolol at 9:00 AM this morning with water. Your next scheduled dose is Donepezil tonight at dinner."

  • If Missed: "Martha, I checked your smart pill tray, and your morning Metoprolol is still waiting. Let's take it together right now with a fresh glass of water."

3. Clinical Validation Therapy via Amazon Bedrock

• Powered by anthropic.claude-3-haiku / claude-3-5-sonnet on Amazon Bedrock.

• Never invalidates emotion, never argues, and never says "You already asked that".

• Generates concise, warm, 1–2 sentence vocal guidance designed to lower cortisol and anxiety.

4. Amazon SNS & EventBridge Caregiver Escalation

• When high-anxiety panic loops or security alerts occur, KinGuard calls kinguard_escalate_caregiver.

• Publishes structured events to an Amazon EventBridge custom bus and sends an immediate SMS notification to Martha's daughter Sarah (+1-555-019-2831).

Hackathon Track & Challenge Alignment

Repository Structure

kinguard/
├── aws_integration/
│   ├── bedrock_cognitive_engine.py   # Amazon Bedrock Claude 3.5 validation therapy engine
│   ├── sns_dispatcher.py             # Amazon SNS & EventBridge caregiver alert dispatcher
│   └── cloudformation_stack.yaml     # CloudFormation IaC template for AWS services
├── mcp_server/
│   ├── kinguard_mcp.py               # Standalone MCP Streamable HTTP / SSE server (JSON-RPC)
│   ├── alexa_skill_agent.py          # Alexa+ Agent Skill intent router & Bedrock glue
│   └── state_store.py                # Ambient IoT state engine (Door, Meds, Stove, Vitals)
├── simulator/
│   ├── simulator_server.py           # Integrated FastAPI backend with REST & MCP endpoints
│   └── static/
│       └── index.html                # High-fidelity interactive web dashboard with speech & canvas
├── run.py                            # Main Python launcher
├── start.bat                         # 1-click Windows runner
├── requirements.txt                  # Python dependencies
├── LICENSE                           # Open Source MIT License
├── PRODUCT_FEEDBACK_AND_FRICTION_LOG.md # Developer product feedback & friction logs
└── README.md                         # Project documentation

Quickstart & Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher

• Modern web browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, or Firefox)

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/piyush0213/kinguard-alexa-mcp.git
cd kinguard-alexa-mcp

2. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Launch the Application

Double-click start.bat on Windows, or run:

python run.py

Open your browser to: 👉 http://127.0.0.1:8080

Interactive Demo Features in Web Simulator

1. Ring Porch Security Camera HUD:

   • Live animated video canvas with CRT scanlines, 1080p HUD, and dynamic AI visitor bounding boxes.

   • Click "Ring Chime" to hear synthesized two-tone doorbell audio.

   • Switch between Amazon Courier, Unverified Stranger, Neighbor Tom, and Clear Porch in real-time.

2. Alexa+ Ambient Voice Stage:

   • Natural voice speech synthesis via Web Speech API (Alexa voice reads responses aloud).

   • Voice dictation using the Microphone Button (speak your queries directly!).

   • Animated pulsing Alexa orb and live audio equalizer waveforms.

3. Smart Home Sensor Toggles:

   • Toggle Front Door Deadbolt (LOCKED / UNLOCKED).

   • Toggle Morning Metoprolol Dispenser (TAKEN / MISSED).

   • Toggle Kitchen Stove Gas Sensor (OFF / ON).

4. Caregiver SMS & MCP Stream Console:

   • Visual smartphone preview displaying real-time Amazon SNS SMS pushes to Sarah Miller.

   • Real-time JSON-RPC 2.0 wire console showing live MCP tool requests and responses.

Testing MCP Endpoints Programmatically

Initialize MCP Protocol (Spec 2025-11-25)

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "initialize", "params": {}}'

Discover Registered MCP Tools

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 2, "method": "tools/list", "params": {}}'

Execute Tool via MCP (kinguard_get_door_snapshot)

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 3, "method": "tools/call", "params": {"name": "kinguard_get_door_snapshot", "arguments": {}}}'

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.
Developed for the Amazon Developer Hackathon (Build, Ship, Shape 2026).