BloomSense

Inspiration

In today's fast-paced world, many people are disconnected from nature, yet there is a growing interest in bringing greenery into living spaces, whether through gardening or houseplants . However, one of the biggest challenges for plant enthusiasts, especially beginners, is identifying the right plants and understanding how to care for them properly . Misidentification and lack of knowledge often lead to poor plant health and frustration . Inspired by the desire to make plant care accessible and enjoyable for everyone, we embarked on the development of Bloomsense. By leveraging augmented reality in Bloomsense, we strive to make learning about plants both engaging and educational

Bloomsense is a user-friendly app designed to help users quickly identify plants, receive personalized care instructions, and connect with a community of plant enthusiasts who share their knowledge and experiences.

What it does

Make gardening * * accessible, educational and ecologically impactful. * * We integrated a plant recognition system with Cloud Recognition Images and made it displayed AR features. The user takes a photo of a plant using the app’s camera. The app then recognizes the plant and provides an interactive, augmented reality experience to teach the user about it. Once identified, the plant is automatically added to the * * My Plants* * section, allowing users to revisit the information anytime.

Additionally, the app features an *Impact Tracking * screen that helps users visualize the positive environmental impact they have made through their exploration and learning. There is also an *Online Community * where users can share comments and insights about their plant experiences.

How we built it

The prototype was created with proto io , helping us in the mock-up and ideation process. Afterwards, Unity was utilized to create the augmented reality experience. Together with the Vuforia package and Cloud Recognition Framework.

We utilized blender objects or Free 3D Models from the internet, in order to bring the Reality Augmented to life.

Challenges we ran into

This hackathon was our first experience developing a mobile app and our first time working with AR technology. The learning curve was difficult, as we had to quickly familiarize ourselves with the tools and resources needed to bring our idea, Bloomsense. The process of selecting the right technologies and understanding how to integrate them effectively within a limited timeframe was particularly challenging, but it was also an invaluable learning experience for our team.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are very proud for having finished this challenge. We strongly believe in our idea and its ability to make a meaningful impact, because we are planning on keep doing this project, so that everyone can enjoy nature education in an interactive way . At the same time, we are proud for having contributed in a AR project and for having learned a lot of technology tools in a short period of time.

What we learned

By tracking the ecological impact of users' gardening and nature learnings, we saw how data can empower individuals to make more sustainable choices. This reinforced the idea that knowledge is a powerful motivator for positive change.

What's next for BloomSense

We have several ideas. These are some of them so far:

Integrate AI to identify common plant issues, such as diseases or pests from photos, providing users with solutions.
Add AR functionality that allows users to place plants anywhere they choose, encouraging them to visualize their space and consider purchasing plants.
Add a marketplace where users can purchase plants, tools, and accessories directly from the app.