A comprehensive Django-based travel application that combines AI-powered landmark identification with location-based exploration and travel planning features.

Creator: Divyansh Chaudhary, MCS from UIUC

• AI Landmark Identification: Upload images and get instant landmark recognition using advanced computer vision models
• Nearby Exploration: Discover landmarks and attractions around your current location using Google Places API
• Travel Planning: Save and manage your favorite locations in a personalized travel plan
• Interactive Chat: Ask questions about identified landmarks using AI-powered conversational interface

• VQA (Visual Question Answering) Model: Identifies landmarks from uploaded images
• GPT-2 Integration: Generates detailed descriptions and answers questions about landmarks
• Real-time Processing: Instant AI model status monitoring and response generation

• Google Places Integration: Real-time nearby location discovery
• Interactive Maps: Visual representation of saved locations using Leaflet.js
• Location Management: Save, organize, and remove locations from your travel plan

Travel Guide App/
├── requirements.txt                 # Python dependencies
├── travelguide/                    # Main Django project
│   ├── manage.py                   # Django management script
│   ├── db.sqlite3                  # SQLite database
│   ├── core/                       # Main Django app
│   │   ├── models.py               # Database models
│   │   ├── views.py                # View functions and logic
│   │   ├── urls.py                 # URL routing
│   │   ├── forms.py                # Django forms
│   │   ├── admin.py                # Django admin configuration
│   │   ├── apps.py                 # App configuration
│   │   ├── vqa_service.py          # VQA model service
│   │   ├── gpt2_service.py         # GPT-2 model service
│   │   ├── migrations/             # Database migrations
│   │   └── templates/core/         # HTML templates
│   │       ├── home.html           # Landing page
│   │       ├── login.html          # Login page
│   │       ├── signup.html         # Registration page
│   │       ├── profile.html        # User profile page
│   │       ├── explore_nearby.html # Nearby exploration page
│   │       ├── find_landmark.html  # Landmark identification page
│   │       └── plan.html           # Travel planning page
│   ├── static/                     # Static files
│   │   ├── css/                    # Stylesheets
│   │   │   ├── style.css           # Main styles
│   │   │   └── explore.css         # Exploration page styles
│   │   ├── js/                     # JavaScript files
│   │   │   ├── main.js             # Main JavaScript
│   │   │   ├── explore.js          # Exploration functionality
│   │   │   └── signup.js           # Registration validation
│   │   └── images/                 # Static images
│   ├── media/                      # User-uploaded files
│   │   ├── landmark_images/        # Uploaded landmark images
│   │   └── profile_pictures/       # User profile pictures
│   └── travelguide/                # Django project settings
│       ├── settings.py             # Django settings
│       ├── urls.py                 # Main URL configuration
│       ├── wsgi.py                 # WSGI configuration
│       └── asgi.py                 # ASGI configuration
└── test_*.py                       # Test files

• Python 3.9 or higher
• pip (Python package installer)
• Git

git clone <repository-url>
cd "Travel Guide App"

# Copy the example environment file
cp env.example .env

# Edit .env file with your configuration
# - Generate a new Django SECRET_KEY
# - Add your Google Places API key (optional)
# - Configure other settings as needed

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

pip install -r requirements.txt

cd travelguide
python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

python manage.py createsuperuser

python manage.py runserver

The application will be available at http://127.0.0.1:8000/

• Django 4.2.23: Web framework
• Pillow 10.1.0: Image processing
• torch 2.1.2: PyTorch for deep learning
• torchvision 0.16.2: Computer vision utilities
• transformers 4.36.0: Hugging Face transformers library
• timm 0.9.10: Computer vision models
• numpy: Numerical computing

• sentencepiece 0.1.99: Text tokenization
• peft 0.7.1: Parameter-efficient fine-tuning

Location: core/vqa_service.py, core/views.py

How it works:

• Uses a pre-trained VQA (Visual Question Answering) model
• Processes uploaded images through the model
• Extracts landmark names from AI responses
• Provides detailed descriptions and chat functionality

Key Components:

# VQA Service initialization
class VQAService:
    def __init__(self):
        self.model = None
        self.processor = None
        self.is_ready = False
    
    def identify_landmark(self, image_path):
        # Process image and return landmark identification

Location: core/views.py, static/js/explore.js

How it works:

• Uses Google Places API for location discovery
• Implements geolocation to find user's current position
• Displays nearby landmarks with ratings, types, and addresses
• Allows saving locations to travel plan

Key Features:

• Real-time location search
• Interactive save/unsave functionality
• Persistent saved state management

Location: core/models.py, core/views.py, templates/core/plan.html

How it works:

• SavedLocation model stores user's saved places
• Interactive map using Leaflet.js
• AJAX-based save/remove operations
• Supports both regular locations and AI-identified landmarks

Database Model:

class SavedLocation(models.Model):
    user = models.ForeignKey(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE)
    place_id = models.CharField(max_length=255, unique=True)
    name = models.CharField(max_length=255)
    address = models.TextField()
    latitude = models.DecimalField(max_digits=9, decimal_places=6, null=True)
    longitude = models.DecimalField(max_digits=9, decimal_places=6, null=True)
    types = models.JSONField(default=list)
    rating = models.DecimalField(max_digits=3, decimal_places=1, null=True)
    saved_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

Location: core/models.py, core/views.py, core/forms.py

Features:

• Custom user profile with profile pictures
• Secure authentication system
• User-specific saved locations
• Profile management interface

Location: core/views.py, templates/core/find_landmark.html

How it works:

• Real-time chat interface for landmark questions
• Integrates with VQA model for contextual responses
• Maintains conversation context about identified landmarks

• Bootstrap 5.3.0: Responsive UI framework
• Bootstrap Icons: Icon library
• Custom CSS: Modern, gradient-based design
• Squircle Cards: Rounded corner design elements

• AJAX Integration: Seamless backend communication
• Real-time Updates: Dynamic content loading
• Form Validation: Client-side validation
• Interactive Maps: Leaflet.js integration

The application uses environment variables for sensitive configuration. Copy env.example to .env and configure:

1. SECRET_KEY: Generate a new Django secret key
2. DEBUG: Set to False in production
3. ALLOWED_HOSTS: Configure for your domain
4. GOOGLE_PLACES_API_KEY: Add your API key for location features
5. Database: Consider PostgreSQL for production

• Never commit .env files to version control
• Generate a unique SECRET_KEY for each deployment
• Use environment variables for all sensitive data
• Keep DEBUG=False in production
• Regularly update dependencies

To enable nearby location features:

1. Get a Google Places API key
2. Add it to your environment variables
3. Configure the API in the views

The project includes several test files:

• test_vqa.py: VQA model testing
• test_gpt2_integration.py: GPT-2 integration testing
• test_dependencies.py: Dependency verification

Run tests with:

python manage.py test

1. Static Files: Run python manage.py collectstatic
2. Database: Use PostgreSQL or MySQL
3. Web Server: Configure with Nginx + Gunicorn
4. Environment: Set DEBUG=False
5. Security: Update SECRET_KEY and ALLOWED_HOSTS

FROM python:3.9
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
COPY . .
RUN python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
EXPOSE 8000
CMD ["gunicorn", "travelguide.wsgi:application"]

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Divyansh Chaudhary
MCS from UIUC

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/divyansh7c
• GitHub: https://github.com/itsDV7

• Django community for the excellent web framework
• Hugging Face for the transformer models
• Google Places API for location services
• Bootstrap team for the UI framework
• UIUC for the academic foundation

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