ZinEdge is an Android application embedding Google's Gemma 3n model (4B parameters, INT4, 1.9 GB) directly on-device via LiteRT, providing medical and agricultural diagnostics 100% offline on low-end smartphones.
Built for rural sub-Saharan Africa — no internet, no cloud, no data leaving the device.
In rural sub-Saharan Africa:
- 1 doctor per 10,000 inhabitants in rural areas
- 600M+ people with no reliable internet access
- Smartphones cost 80–150 USD (entry-level SoCs: MediaTek Helio, Snapdragon 4xx)
Existing AI health tools (GPT APIs, Gemini, Claude) require cloud connectivity. Static decision-tree apps lack natural language understanding. ZinEdge closes this gap.
| Module | Description |
|---|---|
| Health Diagnosis | Enter symptoms (fever, chills, cough…) + optional photo → AI produces probable diagnosis, confidence score, and locally-accessible treatment recommendations |
| Crop Disease Detection | Select crop (maize, tomato, groundnut, sorghum) + photo → AI identifies disease and proposes treatment adapted to locally available inputs |
| Offline Chatbot | Free-form medical/agricultural Q&A powered by Gemma 3n, fully offline |
| History | Consult past diagnoses with search and filters |
Model : Gemma 3n E4B-it INT4 (4.92 GB, .litertlm format)
Runtime : Google LiteRT (formerly TensorFlow Lite) via MediaPipe LlmInference API
Deployment : USB sideload → Android external app-specific storage (no Play Store needed)
Platform : Android 8.0+ (API 26+), optimized for NPU (Qualcomm, MediaTek)
UI : Jetpack Compose + Material 3
DI : Hilt
Local DB : Room
Language : Kotlin
The model is not included in the APK (4.92 GB exceeds any reasonable app size). Deploy it via ADB:
# Connect phone via USB, enable ADB debugging
adb push gemma-3n-E4B-it-int4.litertlm \
/sdcard/Android/data/com.tchoutzine.tchoedgezine/files/models/The app detects the model automatically on next launch.
Model source: Google Gemma 3n on Hugging Face
git clone https://github.com/zoom-BT/ZinEdge.git
cd ZinEdge
# Build debug APK
./gradlew assembleDebug
# Install on connected device
adb install -r app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apkRequires: Android Studio Hedgehog+, JDK 17, Android SDK 35.
ZinEdge/
├── ai/
│ └── GemmaInference.kt # Singleton LiteRT model wrapper
├── data/
│ ├── model/
│ │ └── Consultation.kt # DiagnosisResult + Room entity
│ └── local/
│ └── AppDatabase.kt # Room DB
├── ui/
│ ├── screens/
│ │ ├── SplashScreen.kt # Model loading + status
│ │ ├── HomeScreen.kt # Module entry points
│ │ ├── HealthDiagnosisScreen.kt # Camera + AI health flow
│ │ ├── CropDetectionScreen.kt # Camera + AI crop flow
│ │ ├── ChatbotScreen.kt # Conversational AI
│ │ ├── HistoryScreen.kt # Past consultations
│ │ └── SettingsScreen.kt
│ └── theme/ # Material 3 design tokens
└── navigation/
└── NavGraph.kt
Target users: Community health workers, rural nurses, smallholder farmers in Central and West Africa.
Tested on: TECNO KI5k (MediaTek Helio G85, 4 GB RAM, Android 13) — representative of the African low-end market.
Preliminary results: >87% confidence on common sub-Saharan pathologies (malaria, iron-deficiency anemia, acute respiratory infections, maize blight, tomato late blight). Response time <8 seconds offline.
Privacy: Zero data leaves the device. All inference is local. No account required.
| SDG | Link |
|---|---|
| SDG 3 — Good Health | Accessible medical diagnostics for underserved rural populations |
| SDG 2 — Zero Hunger | Early crop disease detection to prevent yield loss |
| SDG 9 — Innovation | Edge AI deployment on consumer hardware without infrastructure |
- Multimodal vision (PaliGemma embedded for direct image analysis)
- Multilingual support: Fulfulde, Hausa, Lingala, Swahili
- Offline-first epidemiological sync (anonymized data on reconnect)
- Bluetooth wearable integration (blood pressure, pulse oximeter)
- Pilot deployment with Cameroon Ministry of Health (5 rural districts)
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Balbino Tchoutzine | Lead Developer & AI/ML Engineer — ENSPY 4GI |
| Isabelle Magne | Health Domain Expert / Data Scientist — ENSPY 4GI |
📧 tchoutzine@gmail.com · 🌐 zoxbt.is-a.dev
- 🏆 SDGs Innovation Challenge 2026 — AIMS Rwanda
- 🇨🇳 AI Case Innovation Competition for African Youth 2026 — China-Africa Forum Secretariat
ZinEdge — Intelligence at the Edge, Health for All.