---
id: wiki-2026-0508-voice-assistant-architecture
title: Voice Assistant Architecture
category: 10_Wiki/Topics
status: verified
canonical_id: self
aliases: [Voice AI Architecture, Conversational AI Pipeline, ASR-LLM-TTS Stack]
duplicate_of: none
source_trust_level: A
confidence_score: 0.9
verification_status: applied
tags: [voice-ai, asr, tts, llm, architecture, real-time]
raw_sources: []
last_reinforced: 2026-05-10
github_commit: pending
tech_stack:
  language: python
  framework: LiveKit/Pipecat/OpenAI-Realtime
---

# Voice Assistant Architecture

## 매 한 줄
> **"매 voice assistant 의 핵심 = 'ASR → LLM → TTS pipeline 의 sub-500ms latency 의 streaming end-to-end'."**. 2023 Whisper / GPT-4 era 의 cascaded pipeline 의 mainstream → 2026 Realtime API era 매 native speech-to-speech model (GPT-4o Realtime, Gemini 2 Live) 의 emerge — 매 latency 의 ~300ms 의 reduce 의 cascade 의 obsolete 의 begin. 매 production 의 hybrid pipelines 의 still dominant 의 control / cost reasons.

## 매 핵심

### 매 Cascaded pipeline (classical)
- **VAD (Voice Activity Detection)**: Silero / WebRTC VAD — speech 의 boundary 의 detect.
- **ASR**: Whisper Large v3 / Deepgram Nova-3 / AssemblyAI Universal-2 — streaming partial transcripts.
- **LLM**: Claude Opus 4.7 / GPT-5 / Llama 3.3 — reasoning + persona.
- **TTS**: ElevenLabs Flash v2 / Cartesia Sonic / OpenAI tts-1-hd — streaming audio chunks.
- **Turn-taking logic**: end-of-turn detection, interruption handling, barge-in.

### 매 Speech-to-Speech (S2S) 모델
- **GPT-4o Realtime**: WebSocket, ~320ms first-byte audio.
- **Gemini 2 Live API**: WebRTC, native multimodal.
- **Moshi (Kyutai)**: open-source full-duplex, ~200ms.
- 매 advantage: emotion / prosody / pause 의 preserve. 매 disadvantage: tool-calling / structured output 의 weaker.

### 매 Production patterns
1. **Edge VAD + cloud ASR**: 매 unnecessary upload 의 cut.
2. **Streaming everywhere**: ASR partial → LLM partial prompt → TTS chunk-by-chunk.
3. **Interruption handling**: 매 user 의 speak 의 detect → LLM stream 의 cancel + TTS audio 의 stop.
4. **Function calling layer**: tool 의 invoke 의 structured (calendar, search, IoT).

## 💻 패턴

### Pattern 1: LiveKit Agents (full pipeline, 2026 standard)
```python
from livekit.agents import AgentSession, Agent
from livekit.plugins import openai, deepgram, cartesia, silero

async def entrypoint(ctx):
    session = AgentSession(
        vad=silero.VAD.load(),
        stt=deepgram.STT(model="nova-3"),
        llm=openai.LLM.with_anthropic(model="claude-opus-4-7"),
        tts=cartesia.TTS(model="sonic-2", voice="warm-female"),
    )
    agent = Agent(instructions="You are a helpful kitchen timer assistant.")
    await session.start(agent=agent, room=ctx.room)
    await session.generate_reply(instructions="Greet the user warmly.")
```

### Pattern 2: OpenAI Realtime API (S2S WebSocket)
```python
import asyncio, websockets, json, base64

async def main():
    async with websockets.connect(
        "wss://api.openai.com/v1/realtime?model=gpt-4o-realtime-preview-2026",
        extra_headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}", "OpenAI-Beta": "realtime=v1"},
    ) as ws:
        await ws.send(json.dumps({
            "type": "session.update",
            "session": {
                "voice": "alloy",
                "turn_detection": {"type": "server_vad"},
                "tools": [{"type": "function", "name": "get_weather", ...}],
            },
        }))
        async for msg in ws:
            event = json.loads(msg)
            if event["type"] == "response.audio.delta":
                play_audio(base64.b64decode(event["delta"]))
```

### Pattern 3: Pipecat custom pipeline
```python
from pipecat.pipeline import Pipeline
from pipecat.services import AnthropicLLM, ElevenLabsTTS, DeepgramSTT
from pipecat.transports import DailyTransport

pipeline = Pipeline([
    DailyTransport(room_url=URL).input(),
    DeepgramSTT(api_key=DG_KEY, model="nova-3"),
    AnthropicLLM(api_key=ANTH_KEY, model="claude-opus-4-7"),
    ElevenLabsTTS(api_key=EL_KEY, voice_id="..."),
    DailyTransport(room_url=URL).output(),
])
await pipeline.run()
```

### Pattern 4: Interruption handling
```python
class InterruptManager:
    def __init__(self):
        self.current_response = None

    async def on_user_speech_started(self):
        if self.current_response:
            self.current_response.cancel()  # cancel LLM stream
            await self.tts.stop()           # stop audio playback
            await self.tts.flush_buffer()

    async def on_user_speech_ended(self, transcript: str):
        self.current_response = asyncio.create_task(self.respond(transcript))
```

### Pattern 5: Function calling 의 mid-conversation
```python
tools = [{
    "name": "set_timer",
    "description": "Set a kitchen timer",
    "input_schema": {"type": "object", "properties": {"minutes": {"type": "integer"}}},
}]

async def handle_tool_call(name, args):
    if name == "set_timer":
        timer = Timer(minutes=args["minutes"])
        timer.start()
        return f"Timer set for {args['minutes']} minutes"

# LLM streams tool_use → execute → feed result back → continue speaking
```

### Pattern 6: VAD-gated ASR (cost saving)
```python
import silero_vad

vad = silero_vad.load_silero_vad()

async def stream_audio(audio_iter):
    buffer = []
    for chunk in audio_iter:
        speech_prob = vad(chunk, 16000)
        if speech_prob > 0.5:
            buffer.append(chunk)
        elif buffer:
            # End of utterance — send buffered audio to ASR
            await asr.transcribe(b"".join(buffer))
            buffer = []
```

### Pattern 7: Latency budget breakdown (target <800ms total)
```text
User speaks → VAD endpoint detect:    150ms
ASR partial → final transcript:       100ms  (streaming, parallel)
LLM TTFT (time-to-first-token):       250ms
TTS first audio chunk:                150ms
Network + jitter buffer:              150ms
Total perceived latency:              ~800ms
```

## 매 결정 기준
| 상황 | Approach |
|---|---|
| Lowest latency / natural prosody | OpenAI Realtime / Gemini Live (S2S) |
| Tool-heavy / structured | Cascaded (Claude/GPT-5 + LiveKit Agents) |
| Open-source / on-prem | Whisper + Llama 3.3 + XTTS-v2 |
| Phone / telephony | Twilio + LiveKit Agents |
| Browser-only client | Web Speech API + WebRTC (limited) |
| Multilingual | Deepgram Nova-3 + Cartesia Sonic |

**기본값**: LiveKit Agents 의 cascaded pipeline (Deepgram + Claude/GPT-5 + Cartesia) for production flexibility.

## 🔗 Graph
- 부모: [[Real-Time-Systems]]
- Adjacent: [[Whisper]] · [[ElevenLabs]] · [[LiveKit]] · [[WebRTC]]

## 🤖 LLM 활용
**언제**: pipeline component 의 selection / latency 의 budget 의 calculation / interruption logic 의 design.
**언제 X**: 매 audio quality 의 subjective evaluation — 매 human listening test 의 필요.

## ❌ 안티패턴
- **No streaming**: full transcript 의 wait → 매 multi-second latency.
- **VAD 의 missing**: 매 silence 의 ASR 의 send → cost + latency.
- **No interrupt handling**: 매 user 의 speak 의 의 assistant 의 talk over.
- **Synchronous tool calls**: 매 long tool 의 block 의 audio response — 매 ack message ("checking...") + parallel.
- **Over-engineered S2S**: 매 simple Q&A 의 Realtime API 의 use → cost 5-10x without benefit.
- **No turn-detection tuning**: 매 default endpointing 의 cut user mid-sentence.

## 🧪 검증 / 중복
- Verified: LiveKit Agents docs (2026), OpenAI Realtime API docs, Pipecat documentation, "Building Voice Agents" (Anthropic cookbook).
- 신뢰도 A.

## 🕓 Changelog
| 날짜 | 변경 |
|---|---|
| 2026-05-08 | Phase 1 |
| 2026-05-10 | Manual cleanup — full voice assistant architecture guide |