Minerva

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  Example

Inspiration

A group member with hearing loss pitched this idea, drawing on her experience with already-existing products, to create a better one that is geared towards students with hearing disabilities in lecture-style classrooms. Our goal is to develop a note-taking framework that is minimal and easy for users from all backgrounds to use, and implement a recorder that transcribes audio in real-time to enhance the depth of their notes so users don't miss out on important information in settings where hearing the person is required to understand.

Hence, we came up with Minerva. The name Minerva is derived from a Latin word meaning 'of the mind, intellect,' inspired by Roman Mythology and our framework is inspired by Notion's application layout.

What it does

Minerva is a note-taking platform aimed at empowering individuals with hearing disabilities. Over 30 million people in the United States have some form of hearing loss, with 35% of them being adults between 65 and 75 years old. To ensure the product is accessible to all, we have adhered to a minimalist design and made it user-friendly.

Users can create accounts with Google authentication to streamline the registration process. We chose this method because the majority of people already have a Google account. Once users log into the website, they can simply click a button to gain access to Minerva's note-taking tools and services.

How we built it

Our designer created mock ups and low-fidelity wireframes and we started the project from there.

We came up with frameworks to work with, Next.JS & Tailwind CSS for front-end development and Convex for back-end development.

Challenges we ran into

Since Google Cloud Transcription API does not works with Next.js, we had to find alternatives and decided on. Deciding on what backend service most appropriately suits our needs, and version control.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're incredibly proud for not giving up after encountering bugs in the code that were difficult to figure out, and ending up up with a finished product. Having a functional note taking app deployed on Vercel, along with a compact backend running on Convex, and the attractive and detailed user friendly interface.

What we learned

When it comes to working in a team for full stack development, it requires more than technical skills, it also requires soft skills - such as interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, compromising, and graphic design.

What's next for Minerva

We would like to continue to work on adding a Chrome Extension that allows you to still see the transcription while switching tabs. Similar to the picture-in-picture extension, the transcription will be in caption-style so users don't miss out while searching something up to add on to their learning experience.

Additionally, we would like to be able to expand upon our transcription service to further assist people with hearing loss and make it more ADA accessible.

Built With

• clerk
• convex
• css
• javascript
• next.js
• react
• tailwind
• typescript