Aura | Anti-Burnout Chatbot and Planner

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  home screen

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  adding tasks

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  calendar

Inspiration

Lets be real, life isn't always easy, it can get overwhelming at times because we noticed that every planner there is basically just a digital list of things to do that tells you to get stuff done, which honestly just adds to the stress. There was not anything that actually asked, "How are you feeling today?" before giving you a list of chores to do. That is why we created Aura. We wanted to build a tool that treats you like a being with energy levels that go up and down not just a machine that gets things done. Our mission was to combine planning for school with support for our emotions so we can stay on top of our schoolwork without losing our minds.

What Aura does

Aura is not your calendar. It is a companion for school that learns how you feel. Of just listing assignments Aura looks at your schoolwork to find times when you might feel stressed and automatically suggests moving tasks to better times. It uses a system to track your mood to see if you are ready for a project or if you need a quick break first. The core of the app is a chatbot that gives advice based on your history. If you are feeling tired it will not just tell you to keep going. It will suggest taking a break or listening to music to help you focus. It is basically a manager for your life that prioritizes your well-being over getting everything done.

How we built Aura

We designed Aura to be calm and easy to use with an simple interface that does not stress you out. The brain of the project is a model that we programmed to think through a students day step by step rather than just giving standard responses. We used a database to store user records, which's how Aura remembers your past stress patterns to give better advice over time. We also made a system that connects the mood tracker directly to the task scheduler for a smooth experience. Every design choice, from the font to the chatbots personality was made to feel like a friend rather than a strict teacher. It was about making the technology feel invisible and the support feel real.

Challenges we faced

The challenge was definitely getting the smart model to think through a students complex schedule. We did not want a chatbot that just says "you can do it" because that is honestly pretty annoying when you are stressed. Figuring out how to connect our database records to the models logic so it could give advice that takes into account your situation took a lot of trial and error. We also struggled with finding the balance for the interface trying to find the sweet spot between having enough features to be useful and keeping it simple enough to be calming. There were definitely a late-night moments where we had to rethink our entire approach to prioritizing tasks. It was a learning curve but seeing the model finally understand the users mood made it worth it.

Things we are proud of

We are really excited about how the system that tracks emotions turned out. Seeing Aura successfully identify a burnout moment and suggest a "reset" felt like a big win for the team. We also managed to build an interface that people actually want to look at which's rare for a school-related tool. Creating a system where the model actually learns with the user is something we're incredibly proud of. It is more than an app. It is a proof that technology can be used to protect our health rather than hurt it.. We actually managed to get the smart logic working without the whole thing breaking, which is a total win.

What we learned

This project taught us that the best technology is not necessarily the advanced. It is the empathetic. We learned that building tools that respect limits is more important than trying to push people to do more. On the side we learned a lot about smart models and how much more powerful a tool is when it has a memory and a logical flow. We also realized that the user experience is not about how the app looks. It is about how the user feels after they close the app. It changed our perspective on how to design software that actually helps people in their lives. We walked away with a better understanding of how to bridge the gap between cool technology and real-world impact.

What is next for Aura

The future of Aura is looking bright. We have some big plans for the next version. We want to add features so Aura can securely get even more data like club schedules or school events to help students plan. We are looking into integrating Aura with tools like Canvas or Google Calendar so the model can automatically pull in deadlines without entry. We also want to develop insights that show users their productivity patterns over a whole month. Another goal is to make the smart logic more advanced allowing the model to help with breaking down big tasks into smaller more manageable steps. We are just getting started on making school a little less overwhelming, for everyone.

Built With

• api
• chatgpt
• claude
• css
• javascript