RetroPix

A unique time-travelling experience - Amalgamating heritage & modern technology

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Inspiration

The preservation of cultural heritage and history has become a significant challenge, particularly with the declining interest in learning about them. Motivated by the theme of "Nostalgia," our project aims to address this issue by creating an accessible and immersive experience for individuals of all ages to explore heritage through the transformation of their own image in a captivating virtual world. Inspired by modern technology's photo filters in popular apps like Instagram and Snapchat, we seek to make the application of these filters more meaningful and enriching.

What it does

Retropix is a digital product strategically installed in public mirrors across cities worldwide. When the user stands in front of the mirror, it takes them on a personalized journey back in time by transforming their outfits and surroundings to the era and location of their choice.

After the user takes their photo, their transformed photo is then added to an global photo album online. This is where the user can view pictures that other people have taken in Retropix mirrors around the world and see people dressed in different traditional clothings at specific points in time. For example, an album of the 2000s, consisting of garments from Vietnam, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, etc

How we built it

For the functionality prototype, we started with plain HTML/CSS with some handwritten JS files, with zero framework. The AI image processor needs to see the image from a URL, so we use a temporary online storage API that holds our images for 5 minutes. Then we take input from the user who specifies the place and time they want to go and compose that information in a prompt to the AI processor. We also used Cohere’s text generator AI to give fun facts about the time and place chosen as a user experience improvement while they are waiting for the processed image to be returned. For the product page, we quickly whip up a prototype using Canva’s website designer.

Challenges we ran into

One of the main challenges we faced was working with unfamiliar tech stacks. To overcome this hurdle, we actively sought help from mentors, utilized resources like Cohere and Stack Overflow, and engaged in collaborative problem-solving.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Our proudest accomplishment lies in the process of ideation and finalizing our concept. As a team with many ideas, we spent considerable time aligning our perspectives to finalize a project that combined everyone's strengths. Despite all of us being beginner hackers, we work together to make decisions on which platforms to use, optimizing our time, ensuring full usability of our project, and simultaneously adopting new skills.

What we learned

Throughout the hackathon, we gained valuable insights into working with APIs, tech stacks, the intricacies of front-end development, and a better understanding of how JavaScript modules function.

Business Feasibility

Anticipating a 15% monthly customer growth, our conservative projections estimate substantial annual revenue. Only around 9$ per use, the product becomes profitable after the third quarter considering the initial investment. Facilitated by global installations at popular tourist attractions enhances its scalability.

What's next for RetroPix?

The future of RetroPix holds immense potential for preserving cultural history, increasing awareness of diversity and inclusion, and emphasizing historical accuracy. This endeavor serves as a bridge for historical education and cultural appreciation. To improve the product, we will try to research and incorporate knowledge on lesser visited countries and Indigenous communities.

Looking ahead, we envision RetroPix as a promising product with financial viability and the prospect of reaching customers worldwide. Scalability is a key focus, with plans to expand the product globally and sparking curiosity of learning.

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