Inspiration
What it does
InspirationThe inspiration for EcoScan came from the overwhelming confusion surrounding daily waste disposal. Many people want to recycle correctly but struggle to identify which items belong in which bins. This confusion leads to high contamination rates in recycling centers. We wanted to create a frictionless tool that uses technology to take the guesswork out of recycling.What it doesEcoScan is a mobile application that allows users to snap a photo of any household item or piece of waste. Within seconds, our AI analyzes the object and provides clear disposal instructions.Key features include:Visual Recognition: Real-time object classification through the camera.Smart Categorization: Immediate labeling into Recycling, Compost, or Trash.Impact Metrics: Tracking user stats to visualize carbon footprint savings.How we built itWe engineered EcoScan using a modern technology stack:Frontend: Built with React Native for a cross-platform mobile experience.Backend: Powered by Node.js and Express to handle user history logging.AI/ML: Leveraged a computer vision model API to classify images.Challenges we facedOur biggest hurdle was handling edge cases in visual recognition. Items that were crushed or partially obscured initially confused our model. We solved this by expanding our training dataset with real-world images of waste. Additionally, making sure recycling rules adapted accurately to different zip codes proved complex due to fragmented local regulations.Accomplishments that we're proud ofWe are proud of achieving a high image classification accuracy rate during testing. Building a seamless, low-latency pipeline from photo capture to final instruction was a major technical victory for our team.What we learnedThis project taught us an immense amount about data preprocessing and the realities of municipal environmental regulations. We also learned how to optimize client-side image compression so that users on slower mobile networks can still upload photos instantly.What's next for EcoScanWe plan to scale EcoScan by introducing the following features:Barcode Scanning: Integrating a product database for precise disposal data.Gamification: Adding community leaderboards to encourage friendly sustainability competitions.City Partnerships: Collaborating directly with local municipalities to integrate specific guidelines.
How we built it
Challenges we ran into
Accomplishments that we're proud of
What we learned
What's next for EcoScan
Built With
- frontend:-react.js
- html
- next.js
