NUS DayPal

A personalized campus assistant that plans a student's day by combining the timetable, interests, location and campus events, helping them make the most of their free time without missing classes.

Comment

Hall - Temasek Ryan Priyank Sunjai Dhas - Comp Eng, Year 1 Gokul Sai Ramesh - Comp Eng, Year 1 Kugapryan Kumaresan - Comp Eng, Year 1 Skandesh Maniprakash - Electrical Eng, Year 1

Inspiration

As students at the National University of Singapore, we realized that our calendars only tell half the story. While NUSMods tells us where we need to be, it doesn't help us with the hours in between. We saw our peers (and ourselves) wasting long gaps between classes simply because the friction of finding a nearby study spot, checking bus timings, or discovering ongoing campus events was too high. We wanted to build a "Campus Co-Pilot" that turns dead time into meaningful experiences.

What it does

NUS DayPal is an AI-driven, context-aware daily planner designed specifically for the NUS ecosystem.

Dynamic Timeline: It automatically imports your NUSMods timetable and creates a live "story" of your day.

Smart Gaps: Instead of empty slots, it suggests activities based on your major, interests, and real-time campus data.

Integrated Logistics: It syncs with the NUS Internal Shuttle Bus (ISB) API to tell you exactly when to leave your current building to catch the right bus for your next destination.

Mood-Driven Re-planning: A chat interface allows users to pivot their day (e.g., "I'm tired, show me quiet study spots") instantly.

Exam Mode: During finals, the app shifts from "Lively Mode" to "Focus Mode," prioritizing seat availability at libraries and suggesting healthy canteen options nearby.

How we built it

Frontend: Built with Flutter for a smooth, cross-platform mobile experience.

Brain: We utilized the Gemini 1.5 Pro API to process student interests and class schedules to generate personalized recommendations.

Data Sources: We integrated the NUSMods API for scheduling and used mock endpoints for the NUS NextBus system to simulate live transit tracking.

Backend: Firebase handles user authentication and stores personalized student "personas."

Challenges we ran into

One major hurdle was the "Traveling Salesman" problem of campus life—calculating the most efficient way to get from one faculty to another while accounting for bus intervals and walking times. We also spent significant time refining the AI prompt engineering to ensure that "Exam Mode" recommendations felt supportive rather than overwhelming.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully built a functional "Regenerate" logic that doesn't just shuffle tasks but actually understands user intent (e.g., distinguishing between a student who wants to socialize and one who needs to "grind" for a mid-term). Seeing the app successfully parse a complex NUSMods URL and instantly populate a beautiful, scrollable timeline was a "eureka" moment for us.

What we learned

We learned that "Product-Market Fit" in a hackathon often comes down to solving a very specific, local pain point. By narrowing our focus to the unique geography and culture of NUS, we were able to build features (like bus-aware class alerts) that a general calendar app would never prioritize.

What's next for NUS DayPal

Our vision is to integrate uNivUS Mini-App support so students can book study rooms (REBOKS) directly through our "Mood" chat. We also hope to add a "Social Sync" feature where friends can see when their "free gaps" overlap, encouraging more face-to-face interaction across the campus.

Built With

Share this project:

Updates