SmartPour

Inspiration

We noticed that airline crews spend unnecessary time deciding what to do with half-filled alcohol bottles after flights. These manual decisions often lead to inconsistent results, wasted resources, and even non-compliance with airline-specific policies. We wanted to automate this process and make it smarter, faster, and more reliable.

What it does

SmartPour is a rule-driven multiplatform app that scans bottle barcodes, applies airline-specific decision rules, and instantly recommends the correct action: keep, refill, combine, or discard. It standardizes operations, reduces waste, and ensures compliance.

How we built it

We built SmartPour using: Frontend: React Native for mobile and web compatibility. Backend: PostgresSQL for database, authentication, and API management with Flask.

Challenges we ran into

It was planned to use Flutter for the frontend but we discarded that idea quickly. Defining clear and flexible rules for each airline while keeping the system scalable. Designing an interface simple enough for airline staff but robust enough to handle multiple decision paths.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully automated a decision process that was entirely manual before. Built a working prototype capable of analyzing bottles and suggesting actions instantly. Integrated a rule engine in less than 36 hours. Designed a clean and intuitive user interface that can be used both on mobile and desktop.

What we learned

We learned how to design decision systems that balance automation with flexibility, how to integrate multiple platforms quickly, and how important clear rules and UI simplicity are when building tools for real-world operations.

What's next for SmartPour

Implementing AI-based image recognition to detect bottle type and fill level automatically. Expanding the rule engine to support more airlines and liquor categories. Developing a web dashboard for admins to monitor compliance and performance metrics.