Speech-to-Speech: Hydra V1.1 released, `?model=hydra` deprecated
Hydra V1.1 is the current release of the realtime speech-to-speech model. New integrations should connect with ?model=hydra-v1.1:
The session protocol (event catalog, session.configure shape, tool calling, interruption handling) is identical to the original hydra, so switching is a one-parameter change on the query string.
?model=hydra is deprecated. Existing sessions still open, but the server emits a warning frame with code: "model_deprecated" immediately before session.created. Migrate to ?model=hydra-v1.1. See Deprecation Notices.
Voice rosters are documented per version on the Hydra model card. An unknown voice on session.configure is rejected with an error frame (code: "invalid_request_error") rather than silently defaulted, so validate client-side.
hydra-v1.0 is also served on the same endpoint; it is not deprecated, and the server names it as the migration target when a client connects with the deprecated ?model=hydra.
Full voice + version reference on the Hydra model card. Overview + docs pages (overview, WebSocket connection, Audio I/O, Managing sessions, Tool calling) point at ?model=hydra-v1.1 in every URL example and use a V1.1 voice in the sample payloads. The voice field in Managing sessions points to the model card, which is the single source of truth for per-version voice tables, and documents the rejection of unknown voices.
Pulse STT realtime overview: VAD Events, Endpointing, Age & Gender, and Emotion Detection cards
The Realtime features overview now surfaces four capabilities that had dedicated feature pages but were missing from the overview:
- VAD Events. Acoustic
speech_started/speech_endedframes interleaved with the transcription stream. - Endpointing. Tune the end-of-utterance silence timeout with
eou_timeout_ms. - Age & Gender Detection. Optional per-speaker inference alongside the transcript.
- Emotion Detection. Optional per-utterance classification alongside the transcript.