UMass Lends

Inspiration

The necessity for items in different scenarios when we don't want to buy them. Such as borrowing a calculator for a midterm, or a screwdriver when moving in to our dorms.

What it does

Allows students to easily and safely borrow and lend items, with built in AI recommendations, web socket messaging, user database, and umass student only privileges.

How we built it

We built the backend using supabase to handle database api calling, web socket messaging and user information storage. We created the frontend primarily in React.js, typescript, javascript, SQL, Tailwind CSS, and HTML

Challenges we ran into

Setting up the user to user communication system when multiple users were messaging a lender at once. Also integrating the AI so that it would offer recommendations, as well as creating secure authentication and login with brute force protections

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Integrating the AI so that it provides useful seasonal and timely recommendations, making a secure web app with minimal to no vulnerabilities, and creating in app messaging using web sockets. As well as a reporting functionality that removes an item if found to violate our policies.

What we learned

How to integrate AI into frontend and utilize information from supabase in the backend. Securely providing user authentication. How to manage messaging through web sockets and dynamically work with SQL to query the database and alter the database when needed.

What's next for UMass Lends

Scaling the project in a secure and manageable way that allows umass students to use our project with ease and save money in a trustworthy and innovative environment.

Built With

• html
• javascript
• react
• sql
• supabase
• tailwind
• typescript
• vite
• websockets