I collaborated with a group of 3 for this project. As a group, we seamlessly blended our individual skills in coding, design, and problem-solving.

Github repository

Inspiration

Our app was created with the understanding that college students and individuals with busy schedules often struggle to manage their groceries efficiently, leading to food waste and financial losses.

What it does

Our app scans and tracks your groceries, provides estimated expiration dates, and even suggests recipes based on what you’ve purchased, helping you make the most of your ingredients. Additionally, users can access detailed nutritional information, including calorie counts, protein, carbohydrate, and fat content for the recipes provided, contributing to healthier and more informed eating choices. Users can also see allergen warnings and a nutritional score. The app also sends timely alerts for items nearing their expiration date, ensuring nothing goes to waste.

Landing page

How we built it

We used a dynamic technology stack. On the front-end, React, CSS, and HTML were employed to craft a responsive and visually appealing user interface. Flask and Python formed the robust backend, while Python libraries cv2 and pyzbar facilitated barcode scanning. Our app was further enriched with AI capabilities through OpenAI’s API, enabling features like recipe suggestions, recipe nutritional information, and expirations. Additionally, the integration of Open Food Facts’ API helped us with a comprehensive database of food product details, crucial for accurate macro tracking, allergen warnings, and industry nutritional scoring.

Scanning an item

Home page

Recipie Generation

Challenges we ran into

Ensuring that the app provides accurate nutritional information for recipes and products requires access to reliable databases and rigorous data validation. Selecting and integrating the right API required time. Making sure the estimated expiration date was accurate was another challenge we faced.

Accomplishments that we are proud of

Python integration of multiple APIs within the same web application, desktop/mobile camera usability, expiration date and recipe features. Successfully integrating multiple APIs, such as Open Food Facts and OpenAI within the same web application, posed challenges, but we are proud of how we harnessed these APIs to enhance the app’s functionality and data accuracy. We take pride in the positive environmental impact of our app. By helping users reduce food waste and provide nutritional education, we contribute to a more sustainable and eco-friendly world.

What we learned

We learned multiple new technical and soft skills by working on a real-world coding challenge, we improved our problem-solving abilities by tackling complex issues under time constraints and developed effective teamwork and communication skills while collaborating with each other. We also learned how to employ AI APIs and incorporate them into a project with other APIs.

What is next for PEAR

PEAR plans to expand its features, such as meal planning, calorie and macro counting, and shopping list synchronization to further improve users’ grocery management and food safety. Continuously refining the recipe suggestion algorithm based on user feedback and preferences will be a priority, along with personalized dietary recommendations. PEAR will continue to provide the most accurate and updated macro and nutritional information.

Key Features

Barcode scanning for easy grocery tracking.

Accurate expiration date estimation.

Recipe suggestions based on purchased items.

Nutritional information for informed choices.

Contributions

Promoting sustainability by reducing food waste.

Enhancing customer well-being through better grocery management.

• 2024 3
• 2023 5