Inspiration
As pet lovers, we all know the worry of having a new pet. We don't want anyone to stress about taking care of their animals.
One of our team members also owns an African pygmy hedgehog—an animal in which few veterinarians have expertise. We understand the importance of access to species-specific information when it comes to pet health and care.
How it works
PetVitals boasts a variety of features: first and foremost, it contains an AI veterinary assistant where users can inquire about their pets’ injuries or illnesses. Using the user’s query and any images or medical history provided, this assistant helps find potential causes of the pets’ ailments and whether they need medical attention. If so, the app will provide information on nearby vet clinics. On the other hand, if users find it difficult to know when to feed their pets, the PetVitals app can help keep track of what is best for them.
How we built it
For the backend, we leveraged Gemini to create the AI assistant. We also used Google Places API and geolocation to find the vets closest to any given user. For the frontend we built the IOS app using SwiftUI, which communicated with the backend through our Render.com cloud server. The frontend then interpreted and displayed the json files for both the Gemini and Google Places frameworks within the app.
Challenges we faced
One of our most significant challenges was connecting the server-side to the client-side through Render.com; although some of our team members have experience connecting backends to frontends on a website, connecting it to an IOS app was just different enough to create a few extra difficulties. It was especially difficult to test the connection at the stage right before we got it working. This led to hardship while trying to get Swift to interpret the information from the backend and display it accurately as well.
We also initially had some small troubles working with Google Gemini. Finding the best prompt to get the information we desired took a good chunk of our allotted time.
Accomplishments
Our greatest accomplishment is the app itself. From ideation to creation, it proved to be a challenging yet fun task. All of our hard work has led to a product that we can confidently say we are proud to have created.
What we learned
We learned how to host an app on the cloud and integrate Swift with backend Python files. We also learned how to work with Gemini AI and its prompts. Ultimately, building a large-scale app was a new yet fun learning experience for all of us.
What's next for PetVitals
Adding compatibility for Android is a must. We want to make the app accessible to as many people as possible. Furthermore, we want to implement a feature where the app will send an email when you need to immunize your pets and include an option to send all data collected by the diagnosis to your chosen clinic.
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