ReuseMe AI

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Inspiration

Every day, we throw away things (plastic, boxes, old clothes etc) that could be reused with just a bit of creativity. I wanted to build something that nudges people to pause, snap a photo, and see what’s possible with a little help from AI.

What it does

ReuseMe AI is a mobile app that lets you snap a photo of any household item and instantly get smart, creative reuse ideas powered by AI. From planters to organizers, it helps turn “trash” into something useful. It also shows you visual examples to inspire action and lets you share your reuse wins with the community.

How I built it

Honestly I'm just amazed that it has come together so well, thanks to Bolt. Built with a lot of patience but here's the stack:

• Frontend: through Bolt
• Backend: Supabase for auth, user data, likes, and community feed
• Mobile: Expo for iOS build
• AI:
  • gpt-4o for item recognition and reuse idea generation
  • gpt-image-1 (OpenAI) for generating reuse visualizations
• Payments: RevenueCat for managing subscriptions and in-app purchases

Challenges I ran into

• Image generation tradeoff: gpt-image-1 produces beautiful visuals, but it's slow and expensive. I had to rethink when and how to trigger it without ruining the user experience.
• App Store submission: Takes a couple of tries to get it right. Still stuck in review at the time of writing this 🙃
• RevenueCat testing: Took a while to figure out the integration, which made debugging tough for a solo amateur builder.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

• This is my first-ever mobile app built and shipped solo. I’m not a developer by background, but I taught myself enough to get here
• Learned and used new tools end-to-end and launched during a hackathon

What I learned

• Good UX isn’t just fast it’s thoughtful. Showing one high-quality visual and letting users unlock more on demand gave the best balance of delight vs. cost.
• Limiting resource-heavy AI calls isn't a limitation, it's a design opportunity.
• RevenueCat is a cool product name!

What's next for ReuseMe AI

• Add reuse categories and local community feeds
• Build a gamification layer to encourage daily or regular scanning
• Explore partnerships with local recycling centers and NGOs
• Let users submit their own reuse visuals (and reward them for it!)

Please note: while I wait for App Store approval, I have sent the Testflight invitation to testing@devpost.com, and the instructions to use it effectively. Test login credentials: john@doe.com Password: R3us3M3@132465*

Built With

• bolt
• expo.io
• openai
• supabase