NFTake It

Inspiration

When we arrived at Hack the North and received the IDs embedded with QR codes to identify ourselves, we thought “How can we build on this idea to be more encompassing?”. How could we apply modern experimental technology into a practical product so conference experiences could be bettered for participants? After careful deliberation, we decided to combine the latest Web3.0 Technology with traditional events to create NFTake It.

What it does

NFTake It is an innovative tool that will make your conferences and [gatherings] more memorable and streamlined. When you initialize the application, you’re greeted with a friendly screen to submit key information that’s valuable for the event. Then, the application turns into your own photo booth where you can snap a selfie! The picture becomes a permanent memory of the event because it is then converted into an NFT, stored inside your personal wallet. The NFTake It of each NFT means that they can also be used to identify participants, selfies linking a human to their information.

How we built it

The backend for the decentralized blockchain was built on Scaffold-ETH, where it allowed to easily tokenize our data and create an NFT out of pictures. The rest of the web application was built on React.js, written in Typescript. The frontend was fleshed out using Material UI and Socket.io to transfer data between each other.

Challenges we ran into

Because it was our first time experimenting with Web3.0, we ran into a lot of trouble in the prototype implementation stage. The initial learning process was slow, where we experimented a lot with various new libraries and tools, before settling into Scaffold. Because these tools were so new, their integration to popular frameworks like React was not as well documented and more convoluted.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

In the end, we could successfully build with the new Web3 tools to create a functional web application. Like building a Lego set, we have blocked together many different libraries and tools to create the decentralized nodes and be able to send data that is just captured into a user’s wallet.

What we learned

Coming from almost a blank slate about the technicalities of Web3, we have gained the foundational knowledge on which decentralized systems like Ethereum is created through workshops and talking with the mentors. Then, we have seen and experimented with the latest tools to implement the new concepts we have picked up. However, not only did we learn about how to build a Web3 application, we have also gained skills on more orthodox web development skills as well. These include Web Sockets, experimenting with Next.js, and connecting multiple React applications.

What's next for NFTake It

For the future of our project, it would be more useful to capitalize on the fact that the tokens are completely unique. During large events, the NFTs could be used as an authenticator, where users could receive specific information for themselves, which could be sent out based on the tokens themselves. It would be much easier to streamline how information is distributed and received in large gatherings.