Fishpedia

Welcome Page
Capture a fish
Identify a fish
Collected fish
Fish collection
Aquarium
Fish fun fact quiz

Inspiration

Our team, TWICE, was most inspired by sectors traditionally ignored by others, so we looked into unique problem spaces outside the typical interests of the tech industry. We were most interested in the fishing industry and wanted to explore which problem spaces were prevalent there, and what kinds of technology could help the average person be more involved and engaged in fishing-related activities.

We realised that not many of us had any experience at all with fishing, and we were wondering who else was detached from fishing, and how we could connect people through technology. We recognised that aside from ourselves, children needed help becoming more involved with fishing, especially while they were young or still unable to fully engage with fishing, as it was a skill that required patience, not the easiest ability for a child to have.

What it does

Looking into the problem space, we learnt that parents struggled to sustain children’s attention in the physical activity of fishing, as well as in the general interest and pursuit of the topic, which is why we decided to create Fishpedia, an app primarily for children to engage with fishing in a fun, educational way through scanning and collecting fish, as well as learning fun facts about what they’ve caught.

Children can share what they have caught with their family and friends and engage with fishing from a more engaging learning perspective.

How we built it

We built our project by constantly iterating and reconsidering our features as they were being built, and recognising what ways we could apply certain features, as well as what we could do to round out the tool as much as possible for as many different use cases as we could consider.

We constantly reflected on how our tool would be used by children, as well as carefully considering how our tool would facilitate conversation and connection, without using technology to replace those aspects.

Challenges we ran into

One of the main challenges we faced was implementing the native app, especially running Python code and React Native within the same application. We spent a lot of time figuring this out and eventually solved it by using separate environments and connecting them through APIs. As a result, our app runs the fish identification machine learning code in Python while maintaining the main app structure in React at the same time.

Another major challenge was designing the UI. We wanted the interface to be easy and attractive for kids to use. Therefore, we spent time choosing theme colors, designing the layout, and adding some fun animations.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that we were able to design a tool that helps introduce children to fishing in a way that is both educational and engaging. Our project focuses on encouraging learning and curiosity while still supporting the real-world activity of fishing.

We are also proud that our design emphasises connection and conversation between children and their families rather than replacing those interactions with technology.

What we learned

Through developing Fishpedia, we learned more about the fishing problem space and the challenges that parents face when trying to keep children engaged with fishing.

We also learned the importance of continuously iterating on ideas and carefully considering how users, especially children, interact with technology.

What's next for Fishpedia

In the future, we would like to further improve the accessibility of the application by exploring a native mobile implementation.

We would also like to expand the features of Fishpedia by including more fish species, improving the scanning system, and continuing to develop ways for children to learn about fishing and aquatic life while sharing their experiences with family and friends.