Inspiration
It all started when I encountered research on the rising rates of depression among college students post-COVID. One significant contributing factor appeared to be students' increasing difficulty with face-to-face socialization and the prevalence of eating alone. I was motivated to create a solution that addresses these challenges.
What it does
TribalVerse functions similarly to social platforms like Instagram or Snapchat, featuring chat rooms, posts, comments, and likes. However, the key differentiator is our innovative AI implementation:
- Upon first login, our AI assistant initiates a conversation about your interests, hobbies, activities, and food preferences to customize your profile.
- The AI then recommends connections with peers sharing similar interests, hobbies, activities, and food preferences.
- When you develop an active conversation with someone, the AI automatically suggests nearby restaurants where you can meet in person. Meanwhile there are 2 types of chatroom which are private and public. Private chat rooms focuses more one 1 on 1 conversations meanwhile public chat rooms serves as place to meet vast amount of people within your interests.
How we built it
1.Technology Integration: I used TypeScript as the primary programming language and integrated an AI conversational model from Antrhopic to power the personalized user experience, enabling intelligent profile customization and social recommendations. 2.Development Journey: I began with a basic prototype deployed on Replit to test the core social features and AI assistant functionality. I then iteratively refined both the user interface and recommendation algorithms based on initial testing results. 3.Implementation Approach: The backend infrastructure was designed to efficiently process user preference data and generate contextually relevant social and restaurant recommendations while maintaining privacy standards.
Challenges we ran into
TypeScript was not initially my strongest programming language, so I invested considerable time learning its fundamentals and analyzing code samples to understand effective implementation strategies. Additionally, I faced unexpected challenges when my teammate was waitlisted and my team ultimately disbanded, leaving me to complete the project independently.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Despite working alone, I successfully deployed a fully functional application that addresses a meaningful social problem affecting college students today.
What we learned
Through this project, I gained significant proficiency in TypeScript development and enhanced my problem-solving abilities. I also developed valuable skills in project management, particularly in adapting to unexpected challenges and maintaining progress toward deliverables independently.
What's next for TribalVerse
1.Moving forward, TribalVerse aims to expand its reach to more college campuses, beginning with DVC and extending to other institutions. 2.We plan to refine our AI algorithm to offer more personalized recommendations and incorporate features specifically designed to address the unique social dynamics of college environments. 3.Additionally, we plan to explore partnerships with local restaurants to provide exclusive discounts for TribalVerse users, further incentivizing in-person social connections.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.