Nova

Your AI coach for deep focus and productive streaks. With AI-tailored nudges, real-time distraction tracking, and social encouragement, users lock in on their goals and build habits effectively.

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Inspiration

I personally struggle with social media addiction. I study for one minute and then go on YouTube. One video turns into two, and two turns into three hours.

Over this week, I spoke with classmates and students from other schools. Many of them noticed they get distracted frequently, especially during finals week, and they fall behind because they haven’t locked in enough time to study.

We realized this is a huge issue. The smartest people in the world are working at social media companies to keep future generations addicted. Current productivity tools aren’t smart enough — they are extremely punishing and restrictive. They block all of your apps without giving you a chance to reflect, learn, or adjust your habits. This makes users feel restricted and frustrated, often wanting to remove the tool entirely.

Meanwhile, AI is increasingly recognized as an effective coach or therapist. It can understand your emotions and give personalized guidance. Nova uses AI as a supportive, personalized productivity coach — not a punishment system.

What it does

Nova helps users stay focused, manage distractions, and build productive habits through:

  • AI Vision Model: Classifies screenshots as productive, soft distraction, or hard distraction
  • Nova AI Coach (Text Model): Gives context-aware encouragement and nudges
  • Escalation System: Uses a dynamic orb with visual feedback instead of harsh popups
  • Session Tracking: Produces daily and weekly summaries
  • Friend System & Encouragement: Notifies users when friends lock in and enables motivational nudges

Learn more about why AI works well as a coach:
Why AI coaching works

How we built it

  • Built as a Chrome extension + Electron desktop app
  • Used Firebase for user data and telemetry
  • Integrated OpenAI Vision models for screenshot-based distraction detection
  • Integrated OpenAI Text models for adaptive coaching and escalation messaging
  • Designed a glassmorphism UI with a color-changing orb and smooth Canvas animations

Screenshots are analyzed transiently and never stored, ensuring privacy.

Immersive Escalation System

What: Full-screen warning system that replaces modal popups with an expanding orb based on infraction count

Why I'm Proud:

  • Smooth Canvas-based animations at 60fps
  • Dynamic color progression (yellow → orange → red)
  • Cubic-bezier easing for natural motion
  • Glassmorphism aesthetic with backdrop blur

Challenges:

  • Preventing page interaction during overlays
  • Ensuring smooth expansion across screen sizes and resolutions

Nova AI Coaching with GPT-4 Vision

What: AI-powered screenshot analysis paired with contextual coaching

Why I'm Proud:

  • Multimodal Vision + Text reasoning
  • Efficient base64 encoding for API transmission
  • Multi-stage prompting (detection → severity → coaching)
  • Privacy-conscious design (screenshots not stored)

Example logic:

if distraction_detected
  escalate_infraction
  generate_coaching_message
else
  send_positive_feedback
end

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