Inspiration
We were inspired to develop Text Wolfram after realizing the struggle with being able to access information in environments without WiFi. As such we wanted to develop Text Wolfram to provide a tool to support learning with artificial intelligence.
What it does
Text Wolfram is a service that allows users to text a phone number to ask questions and receive a quick and accurate answer powered by Wolfram Alpha.
How we built it
We used Python to build a flask server to receive and process SMS messages. Ngrok was used to host a URL which we tied a webhook with the Twilio API. We then used the Wolfram Alpha API to code in a response protocol for incoming messages to return a SMS message containing Wolfram Alphas answer.
Challenges we ran into
One of the largest challenges we faced was setting up a server to receive and process SMS messages. This task turned out to be harder than expected as the Twilio API required a lot of support and resources to be able to integrate alongside other tools. Fortunately we managed to find a solution with ngrok and flask.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Building a simple and working application that implements artificial intelligence. We're also proud to be able to build an application that is able to process SMS and works without internet.
What we learned
We learned how to use a variety of tools to manage HTTP requests and utilize APIs to integrate a variety of tools together. We also learned how to use flask to build a server to handling incoming messages.
What's next for Text Wolfram
Text Wolfram could be expanded to provide even more internet powered services though text such as being able to access directions from mapping software, being able to webscrape infomation with your phone and being able to request and receive database information with your phone.
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