ItMine

Inspiration

One of our team members consistently loses track of items (although usually not permanently) and is tired of worrying all the time. Most people have either lost something or have been caused great stress at the possibility of losing something. We believe that in order to mitigate this stress, an effective and orderly system must be put into place to greatly increase the chances that a lost item would be returned. Given that QR codes can be scanned with most smartphone camera apps, they can be used as a prime method for obtaining the means of returning a lost object directly to its owner.

What it does

We have built a platform for users to be able to seamlessly track their belongings. By tagging an item with a QR code, returning lost items has never been so easy! Simply purchase a QR code tag at the ItMine website and you're set! This QR tag will direct the scanner to instructions on the website which will instruct the finder of the item on how to return it to its owner. The tag can be used at a local UPS store to instantly ship it back to its owner.

How we built it

We split our team into different sub-teams based on our strengths. Back-End: Jonathan Lam Front-End: Andrew Kim, Daniel Kim, Jonathan Lam Logo: Anthony Belladonna Ideas: Amy Leong, Anthony Belladonna, Andrew Kim

We primarily used the MEAN stack: Mongo/Mongoose for the DB, Express for routing, Angular (and Bootstrap) for the front-end, and Node.js to power the whole application. We also the ShipEngine API on the back end, and the HERE.com and Google Chart API (to generate the QR codes) on the front end.

Graphics were made with Canva.com, Inkscape, Pinta, and FireAlpaca.

Challenges we ran into

One issue we ran into was how we were going to get the item shipped back to the owner. Luckily, by using the Ship Engine API, the entire shipping label can be stored within the QR code. Another issue that was raised was how the package was to be shipped back to the owner.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We came up against a lot of difficult problems, but we managed to work out a solution that may be practical and save a lot of time for clumsies like us.

What's next for ItMine

There were a lot of iffy money-balancing and technical details that we couldn't completely theorize, so before something like this is realized in the real world, it would be useful to carry out more research or small beta tests.