RoamAI

Inspiration

I have always been fascinated by stuff around me when I'm out and about. Whether it's places, sculptures, buildings, plants, even mundane infrastructure like train tracks or canals, I'm always admiring and thinking about the things I see. However, nobody around me seems anywhere near as interested as me. So, I built RoamAI, in an attempt to spark that same sense of curiosity and appreciation in other people, and encourage them to look a little closer at the world around them (and also go outside more).

What it does

RoamAI is an Android app that turns your smartphone camera into an interactive guide that observes your surroundings, provides insightful descriptions, and responds to your spoken questions in real time with an enthusiastic (but still somewhat calm) voice.

How I built it

I have plenty of experience with Android app development other projects I worked on, so I was able to do this by myself without the help of other people. However, I did use Google AI Studio and Gemini in Android Studio a lot to speed up the building process.

Challenges I ran into

The biggest challenge for me was learning how to integrate Gemini and ElevenLabs. Although I have attended several Hackathons before, this was my first time integrating AI into a project, and it was difficult to figure out. Another big challenge was that since I'm from London, Ontario, travelling to Ottawa to attend the Hackathon was very tiring and I often times didn't have the energy to work effectively.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I'm proud of what I made. Although it was a small project, I think it turned out nicely considering I built it entirely on my own with limited time and energy. I'm especially proud that I was able to figure out how to integrate Gemini and ElevenLabs into my app.

What I learned

I was able to learn how to integrate APIs into applications, and I also learned a bit more about Android app development. In addition, building this as a solo developer was a completely new experience for me, since this is the first Hackathon project I've made on my own.

What's next for RoamAI

I will show this to my friends and see if it sparks the fascination for exploring and going outside. If it does, I will get their feedback and make improvements to the app, possibly adding new features to it.

Built With

• gemini