Inspiration-Many citizens, especially in rural areas or with low literacy, are unaware of their rights and government schemes. We wanted to create a solution that bridges this gap - a platform that simplifies information and makes civic awareness accessible to everyone.
What it does - CiviSense is an AI-powered civic awareness platform available as both a mobile app (Expo) and a web app (Next.js).
It helps citizens:
Learn about their rights and government schemes
Receive instant notifications when new updates or benefits are released
Use OCR to scan documents or posters and get simplified summaries powered by Gemini AI
How we built it - We developed both:
Mobile App (Expo + React Native) – for offline-friendly, accessible use
Web App (Next.js + Tailwind CSS) – for broader reach and fast access
Backend: Node.js + Express AI: Gemini API for summarization and content generation Core features:
OCR integration for printed text recognition
Push notifications for real-time government updates
Multilingual and inclusive UI
Challenges we ran into -
Ensuring smooth integration of OCR with Gemini
Keeping AI outputs simple for low-literacy users
Managing dual deployment for both mobile and web
Maintaining accessibility and multilingual consistency
Accomplishments that we're proud of - Built a complete AI-driven ecosystem on both web and mobile
Integrated OCR, Gemini, and real-time notifications successfully
Created an inclusive, citizen-first platform with accessibility in mind
What we learned - We learned how to connect AI with real-world civic impact, how to balance tech performance across web and mobile, and how to design for accessibility and inclusion.
What's next for Civisense -
Voice-based navigation and translation
Offline functionality for rural users
Direct government integration for verified updates
AI-driven chatbot support for citizen queries
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