Carbonlock

Inspiration

Living in California, we have all experienced the effects of forest fires within our community. Witnessing the effects of these disastrous events, our collective appreciation and understanding of the environment grew. Through this webpage, we hope to foster a culture of environmental consciousness, knowledge, and appreciation. We believe that Carbonlock is a tool for our Californian community to better understand their impact on the environment and learn ways that they can give back and contribute.

What it does

In addition to our informative home page, our innovative webpage has 4 core features to help educate the consumer about their environment.

The flagship feature of our webpage is called EcoScan and integrates a barcode scanner and Google's Generative AI to fetch and display product information along with recycling instructions and sustainable alternatives. When a product's barcode is scanned, the component uses an external API to retrieve product details. It also employs Gemini AI to generate step-by-step recycling instructions and lists top sustainable alternatives for the product. The component includes error handling and displays the results in a user-friendly layout, offering both practical information and eco-friendly suggestions. This facilitates an informative interaction aimed at educating consumers on their environmental behaviors.

The second feature is our carbon footprint calculator which provides an interface for calculating and visualizing an individual's carbon footprint based on transportation, home energy usage, and diet. It uses a pie chart to display the distribution of emissions and calculates the number of trees needed to offset them. Users can input their personal data through a form, and on submission, the component uses an AI model to generate personalized suggestions for reducing their carbon footprint. This is presented alongside interactive visual elements, making the user experience engaging and educational on environmental impact. The third feature is our carbon emissions simulation. This serves as an educational tool designed to engage and inform the general public about environmental issues related to climate change. It uses D3.js to create an interactive visual representation of CO2 emissions across different U.S. states over time, displayed on an SVG map that changes according to the selected year.IIn addition to the map, the component includes several sections that delve deeper into various aspects of environmental impact and mitigation strategies. These sections cover topics like the fundamentals of climate change, the importance of carbon sequestration, reforestation efforts, direct air capture technologies, and the role of blue carbon ecosystems in carbon storage. Each section is designed to educate users by providing detailed explanations accompanied by visual aids and real-world examples, enhancing the learning experience.

Our final core feature is called Nature’s eye. It serves as an interactive platform for users to upload images and generate insights related to the environment depicted in those images. Utilizing Google's Generative AI, the app can identify vegetation, assess environmental conditions, offer sustainability advice, and provide fun facts about plant life. The component allows users to upload a photo, and upon selecting an image, the app performs tasks such as describing the vegetation, its ecology, and comparing its environmental impact to other plants. Additionally, it can evaluate environmental health, suggest actions to enhance biodiversity, and share interesting details about the plants shown. This application is geared towards educating users about the environmental significance of the flora in their images, promoting awareness and encouraging proactive environmental stewardship.

How we built it

Utilizing React.js for the frontend, Node.js for the backend, and Express.js for routing, we crafted a dynamic, JavaScript-based webpage. Integration of the Google Gemini API allowed us to generate text responses based on user inputs, including images and text.

Challenges we ran into

Navigating the implementation of the Gemini API for image scanning posed a significant challenge. Additionally, crafting an aesthetically pleasing webpage proved to be a formidable task.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We take pride in delivering a project that serves as a practical resource for environmentally educating our community and fostering collective improvement. Given the urgency of climate change, fostering environmental awareness stands as a crucial initial step toward effecting positive change.

What's next for Carbonlock

Our vision for Carbonlock entails expansion into a mobile application, enhancing accessibility for users to leverage barcode scanning and image analysis functions. We also hope to add more functionality to understand the environment in more ways.

Built With

• express.js
• google-gemini
• node.js
• react