Inspiration
Seasonal depression often goes undiagnosed and unrecognized. We want to help bring recognition to seasonal depression, and help provide resources for those who may have it. We were inspired by the idea that meaningful connections and consciously spending more time in nature can be powerful mechanisms to help people cope with symptoms of seasonal depression, especially during the darkest months of the year.
What it does
Our solution promotes education on the topic, as well as addressing the isolation and low energy and fatigue levels created by cold weather, shorter days, and a lack of sunlight during winter. Our web application is designed to inform the user on what seasonal depression is, along with a questionnaire for the user to be able to identify symptoms in themselves, and potentially find solutions to their developed habits. In addition, we include a link to a Chrome Extension that we created. This Chrome Extension features a customizable timer that gently prompts users to engage in healthy habits. For example, based on the user's browsing habits, they may receive a notification suggesting that they take a walk outside, get some sun exposure, do a meditative journal exercise, or reach out to a friend. Additionally, it provides quick access to our website for additional resources if needed.
How we built it
Backend*: MongoDB to store user data including login information and a customizable personal dashboard feature and Express.js to query the database, Node.js, Auth0
Front end: React, Bootstrap CSS, HTML5, CSS, JavaScript
*We spent time trying to get the backend working, and were successful in deploying a MongoDB database and querying it with API calls, but were unable to ultimately integrate the database with the frontend and had to pivot our project for time's sake.
Challenges we ran into
We initially planned to implement a Chatbot on our site, in order to provide interactive information and support to users who were struggling, however training the model on personal data was very challenging, especially because as a group we don't have much experience training and fine-tuning AI models. Additionally, we ran into issues integrating MongoDB with the frontend application, and despite researching on our own and collaborating with mentors for support, we were unable to find the cause of the routing issues. As such, as a team we had to be extremely adaptable and change our plans as we implemented things based on time and resource constraints, and ultimately despite the challenges we faced we were able to successfully implement a project using a unfamiliar tech stack.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
- Using React framework to create a website and experimenting with various styling techniques and visual elements.
- Creating a working chrome extension (a first for us!) and implementing notifications to the user from the extension.
- Tackling brand new technologies head on - we worked with MongoDB, Auth0, and HTML/CSS for the first time which was nerve-wracking! And although we weren't able to perfectly implement all of these tools, we'll still all walk away having learned a lot and excited to keep experimenting with these tools.
What we learned
Technical Skills
- How to use React
- Creating a Chrome Extension
- Using Express to query MongoDB Non- Technical Learning
- Importance of having the base functionality for an application before introducing new features - we spent a lot of time working on features we couldn't ultimately finish in time, and as a result had to adapt our overall project plans accordingly.
What's next for Lumos
- We want to add a Database so that we have long-lasting storage where users can upload snippets/notes for themselves or for contacts as a way to curate a happy place for when they feel isolated.
- Implementing user authentication to create a community of friends, and allowing the Chrome Extension to send One-click messages to a friend when a user needs companionship or support.
- We want to revisit Chatbot capabilities for the questionnaire to provide personalized and interactive suggestions for users well being.
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