PathfinderAI: ASU Safe Transport
About the Project
PathfinderAI is a web application designed to provide safe and sustainable routing for students at ASU, especially during dust storms and flooding. The inspiration came from my personal experience navigating campus in extreme weather and noticing that most mapping tools do not account for safety hazards or environmental impact. Many ASU students know how hard it can be to navigate during haboobs and huge storms. This AI agent can help students move around campus safely and sustainably.
Inspiration
Living near the ASU campus and being an active pedestrian and cyclist, I realized that routes recommended by standard navigation apps often ignore temporary hazards like dust storms, flooding, or poor air quality. I wanted to create a tool that combines real-time weather data with AI-powered route suggestions to help students make safer and greener choices.
What I Learned
This project we learned A LOT about patience but mostly about full-stack web development, AI integration, frontend design, handling APIs.
How I Built It
Frontend: Created in React with useState for managing results and weather data. Components include QueryForm, ResultCard, and Header. Designed a responsive grid layout for displaying AI answers and weather alerts. Added a background image for visual appeal and used text-shadow to keep content readable.
Backend: Implemented in Python with FastAPI, serving a /gpt POST endpoint. The backend receives questions from the frontend, queries an AI model, and returns structured answers.
Data flow: Users submit a query via the form. The frontend sends the query to FastAPI. FastAPI fetches the AI response and any relevant weather data. The frontend displays the results in cards, highlighting alerts like dust storms or flooding.
Future Improvements: Implement real-time routing maps with markers for hazards. Add multi-step route planning to avoid multiple hazards in one trip. Enhance AI with personalized recommendations, e.g., fastest vs safest route. Incorporate energy-efficient routing to minimize environmental impact.
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