NoteGarden

Home page dark mode
Task list dark mode
AI assistant in light mode

Inspiration

Omnivox has always felt like an inconvenient and limited tool for students. We wanted to create something more personalized and efficient—an all-in-one platform that actually fits how students manage their academic lives.

What it does

NoteGarden is a web and mobile app that combines essential student tools into one place. It includes a manageable calendar, a centralized task list, document scanning and reading features, and an AI chatbot to assist with homework, studying, and organization.

How we built it

We used Vultr as our backend infrastructure, running a Dockerized instance of MongoDB as our database. On the frontend, we built the application using Vite and React, and deployed it on Vercel. DuckDNS handles communication between the frontend and backend. We also used Gemini to speed up development and Roo Code to quickly implement fixes and improvements.

Challenges we ran into

One of our main goals was to integrate real-time bus displays using transit and maps APIs. However, due to time constraints and the complexity of working with external APIs, we were not able to fully implement this feature.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully implemented most of the core features we set out to build within a limited timeframe. Bringing together multiple tools—calendar, tasks, AI assistance—into a single cohesive platform was a major achievement for us.

What we learned

We learned that feature creep is very real. It’s easy to keep adding ideas, but it’s crucial to prioritize and focus on what can realistically be completed within a limited timeframe. Planning and scope control are just as important as technical skills.

What’s next for NoteGarden

Next steps include completing the bus routing feature and continuing overall development. We also plan to implement mobile AR navigation across campus to further enhance the student experience.