/FridgeSpace

Reduces consumer food waste by notifiying users of upcoming expiry dates of food items in their virtual fridge. Featured on MLH Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=MLHacks%20fridgespace

Primary LanguageJavaScript

FridgeSpace

Created for TOHacks 2021!

Inspiration ๐Ÿง 

With the average single-family household throwing away over 200kg of food every year, FridgeSpace bridges the main causes of food waste by addressing consumers' lack of planning, attitudes towards preferences, and behaviour.

What it does ๐Ÿ’ป

The core features include a virtual fridge that tracks the expiration of food to prevent waste, an ingredients scanner that identifies foods and their alignments with dietary restrictions, and many customizable features to suit your food needs!

Some features include:

  • Customizable food combinations/preferences ๐Ÿ”
  • Family/Family member fridge specifications ๐Ÿฅ‘
  • Past order information ๐Ÿงพ
  • Favourites โค๏ธ
  • Average expiry times โ›”
  • Where to buy ๐Ÿ›’
  • Sustainability measurements ๐ŸŒณ

The Logistics

How we built it ๐Ÿงฑ

We used Figma to visualize our design as well as prototype features before developing the app through React Native using Javascript and CSS. We also used several APIs including Courier and Google Cloud Vision OCR to allow users to receive notifications about food in their fridges.

Here is an image of our mockup:

Mock Up


Our Takeaways

Challenges we ran into ๐Ÿ˜ 

It was challenging using courier as it was a new platform that we have never used before and required understanding a new language. Some of the courier challenges involved variables not being shown in delivered text messages and images not appearing. It was also a bit of a challenge having a diverse group because within the group there were different time zones meaning we had to manage our time effectively.

Accomplishments that we're proud of ๐Ÿ˜Š

With a diverse team with various skills and age ranges, we learnt through understanding each other's abilities and experimenting in others' specialties. From data analytics to coding on a new framework, we supported each other throughout the process of learning. We are especially proud of successfully using the Courier API to send SMS messages, and using AI/ML through Google Cloud Vision's OCR.

What we learned ๐Ÿ“–

We learned how to work together in a group with a limited time frame to produce a really cool project. We also learned some new languages and were are able to develop our CS skills!

What's next for FridgeSpace ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ

We'd love to take any feedback and hear from you! We hope to expand FridgeSpace with greater complexity, and potentially integrate Firebase as a backend database to store user preferences.