Élan | Devpost

Inspiration

As college students, we experience firsthand the importance of productivity in managing our busy lives. SambaNova’s prompt resonated deeply with us, as we navigate the challenges of balancing academic, social, and personal responsibilities. Transitioning from the comfort of home to the independence of college life tests our ability to be self-sufficient. We envision our app as an omnipresent guardian, enhancing personal and pragmatic productivity while offering protection and support during moments of need.

What it Does

Élan centralizes information from a variety of apps and inputs, creating a unified hub to optimize your daily productivity. By integrating data related to health, environment, and time management, the app generates a composite productivity score and provides tailored recommendations to enhance well-being. Acting as both a productivity tool and a goal-oriented coach, Élan ensures users maintain a balanced focus on personal growth and practical accomplishments. It serves as a constant companion, safeguarding your overall well-being and helping you thrive as a productive adult.

How We Built It

We developed the front end of Élan using React Native and TypeScript, designing intuitive screens to meet user needs. For the backend, we leveraged the SambaNova API to harness the power of the Llama 3 model. This enabled us to create a robust goal-coaching system and perform advanced data analytics, delivering actionable insights for users to enhance their productivity.

Challenges We Ran Into

One of our first hurdles was quantifying human productivity. To address this, we conducted extensive research into the key factors influencing productivity. On the technical side, we encountered significant challenges, including adapting to the deprecation of Expo, our usual development tool. This required finding alternative methods to display and test the app. Additionally, we faced hardware integration issues, experiencing data lag and connection instability during real-time testing.

Accomplishments That We're Proud Of

We’re particularly proud of two achievements: designing a user-centric, seamless interface and successfully integrating multiple APIs to deliver accurate, real-time productivity insights. These elements ensure Élan provides a polished and effective experience for users.

What We Learned

This project taught us the value of applying a structured framework during development. By anticipating potential obstacles and proactively addressing them, we were able to streamline our workflow and overcome challenges more effectively.

What's Next for Élan

Our vision for Élan extends far beyond its current capabilities. We aim to scale the app to integrate all aspects of daily life, fostering not only productivity but also safety and holistic human development.