Inspiration
Currently in university, i found myself getting bored and tired of reading long lectures or notes. So when i saw this hackathon, and the new chrome summarizer API, i had an idea to utilize it to create an extension that summarizes whatever is on my webpage and create multiple choice questions, and flashcards for it. It made going through these long lectures a breeze, and i actually was able to test myself and ask follow up questions. It's also useful when i don't want to read a whole wiki page for something, so this gives me the information i need.
What it does
It generates a summary using Google's new in-built AI API, this summary is presented to the user, then given the option to generate multiple choice questions they can answer on the spot, or generate flashcards that can be used in Anki. (There is a export pdf feature, but it's disabled because of chrome's manifest V3 policy of remotely hosted code). The user is also able to ask follow up questions about the summary to gather further information, and best of all imo, the ability to compare between information on your current webpage and another webpage link. This allows you to compare sources.
How we built it
I started off with the template created by google for the summarizer API, which then i improved upon and used the concepts i learned by the template to create the side panel extension. It uses the Summarizer API, and as well as the Writer API (for generating follow-up questions, flashcards, comparison, multiple choice questions)
Challenges we ran into
I've never developed an extension before, so this was definitely a new experience for me filled with a lot of googling up solutions for problems i ran into, uploading the project to the web store was a hassle. Kept getting rejected because of remotely hosted code being in my project for the pdf feature, so i decided to disable it entirely. Frequent AI bugs that needed me to ensure the AI's don't freakout and generate random nonsense, probably since it's only beta. I also found an issue not in my control, there is a character limit to the summarizer AI, which poses to be a problem when I'm trying to deal with very large websites, but I'll try to maybe come up with a solution for it.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
I'm very proud that i got to actually develop the extension and get it onto the web store, since it's a first for me. Learning how these extensions work and dabbling with AI to gain some experience and knowledge. I'm happy i was able to make an extension with an actual purpose, albeit a bit generic, but still worth the time I spent learning.
What we learned
How to develop chrome extensions, how chrome AI APIs work and their usefulness in everyday regular browsing, gained experience with JavaScript and styling with CSS.
What's next for Study Assistant
I'm planning to address the character limit issue, as well as add more useful features for students, like translating, exporting as markdown, pdfs, and a general refining of all the current features I currently have.
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