What Is This Thing?

Overview

What Is This Thing? is a demo application showcasing vector search and hybrid search using Couchbase. It is an ASP.NET Core demo eCommerce website with features like semantic visual search and geo-location-based product recommendations.

Projects

WhatIsThisThing.Server: The main ASP.NET Core application backend with API endpoints like Identify and Browse.
WhatIsThisThing.Loader: Populates Couchbase with sample data, including vector embeddings from Azure Computer Vision.
WhatIsThisThing.Core: Contains common services and shared configuration.
whatisthisthing.client: The React frontend for the application.

Configuration

The shared backend configuration is stored in appsettings.json or appsettings.Development.json within the WhatIsThisThing.Core project:

{
  "Couchbase": {
    "ConnectionString": "couchbase://localhost",
    "Username": "Administrator",
    "Password": "password",
    "BucketName": "whatisthis",
    "ScopeName": "_default"
  },
  "AzureComputerVision": {
    "Endpoint": "https://<subdomain>.cognitiveservices.azure.com/computervision/",
    "SubscriptionKey": "<key>"
  }
}

There is an appsettings.Development.json.sample file included. You can use this as a starter example when creating your own appsettings.Development.json file.

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

Step-by-Step Setup

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/mgroves/WhatIsThisThing.git
cd WhatIsThisThing

Set up Couchbase
- Install and start Couchbase Server.
- Create a bucket named whatisthis.
Create the vector search index
- Access the Couchbase web console.
- Navigate to the "Indexes" tab.
- Create a new vector search index on the whatisthis bucket.
Configure Azure Computer Vision
- Obtain your endpoint and subscription key from the Azure portal.
- Update appsettings.json in the WhatIsThisThing.Core project with your Azure Computer Vision credentials.
- Confirm that you have the correct permission to use this endpoint.
Load sample data into Couchbase
```
cd WhatIsThisThing.Loader
dotnet run
```
Build and run the backend (and frontend will also launch via Vite)
```
cd WhatIsThisThing.Server
dotnet run --launch-profile https
```
Access the application
- Navigate to https://localhost:5173/ to use the frontend.
- Use https://localhost:7145 for the backend API.

Usage

What Is This Thing?

Upload a picture to identify the item (and other similar-looking items).
Get item details including price, description, and nearby stores that have the item in stock.

Browse Page

View the entire catalog.
Filter items based on review scores/prices.

License

This demo project is licensed under the MIT License.