EkoLens

Inspiration

UVA set a bold goal—to be carbon neutral by 2030 and fossil fuel-free by 2050. But let’s be honest, schools can’t hit those goals alone. Students make up the heartbeat of campus, and we wanted to build something that helps them actively contribute to that mission.

That’s where EkoLens was born. When UVA emphasized ingenuity and inclusivity in their 2030 plan, we thought: what if we could put sustainability into students' hands—literally? A way for them to see their impact, build better habits, and share their efforts with the community.

We were inspired by two research papers:

"Reducing Single-Use Plastic Waste: Quantitative Analysis of Environmental Impact" – which gave us the raw numbers behind just how harmful plastic is.

"Augmented Reality as a Catalyst for Behavioral Change in Environmental Sustainability" – which showed how tech like AR can genuinely push people to make better choices.

Those studies laid the foundation for EkoLens—an app that blends detection, awareness, and motivation into one experience.

What it does

EkoLens turns your phone into a sustainability tracker—powered by real-time object detection and daily eco challenges.

🔍 Scan with AR: Point your phone at an object—like a plastic cup or a car—and the app instantly detects it, showing its carbon impact and long-term environmental cost.

✅ Daily Sustainability Quests: From using a reusable bottle to riding a bike, each completed challenge earns you points toward your sustainability streak.

🧠 Learn while you act: Every object includes environmental stats and quick facts.

📸 Social Feed: Snap a photo, share your challenge, and see what others are doing in an Instagram-style feed.

🏆 Leaderboards + Prizes: This isn’t just for show. Students can compete to earn top spots—and win real rewards. We’re talking free gear, eco swag, and shoutouts from the Sustainability Office.

We’re bringing climate action to campus in the most fun and energetic way possible.

How we built it

We used react native for the front end with a pre trained tensorflow dataset for object labeling we then draw these labels to show you when you take a photo we use a REST endpoint to upload photos to the backend which is in python and get statics such as who you’re logged in as your challenges and the leaderboard.

Challenges we ran into

Finding an AI model that was fast to update to the users also making the UI look very nice was hard but once we had a design we were off to the runnings!

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Detection is 🔥—it's fast, accurate, and feels smooth The StatsPanel makes climate education visual and digestible Our daily quest system connects students’ actions directly to UVA’s 2030 goals We made sustainability competitive, fun, and shareable—students aren’t just learning, they’re leading

What we learned

Small nudges and visual feedback can create real behavioral change Students want to take part in climate action—they just need the right platform Turning climate action into a game—with goals, stats, and competition—actually works UVA’s sustainability efforts can be accelerated when students are empowered to make individual contributions

What's next for EkoLens

Add more object types like compostables, packaging waste, or e-waste Build out a full backend system for real-time profile syncing, user achievements, and history Add support for group quests (e.g., “Your dorm reduced 500 kg of CO₂ this week”) Partner with UVA’s Office for Sustainability to launch campus-wide competitions Introduce real prizes and recognition: free gear, UVA merch, feature on school channels