Web-Slinger Dispatch

Detailed reports can be done
Everyone who has access to this app can see this report

Inspiration

Stan Lee, Spider-Man's creator, famously said, “Anyone can wear the mask,” and that idea is the core of our project. We believe heroism isn't just about running into a firefight; it's about providing critical information for your community. Spider-Man was the ultimate friendly neighborhood hero because his heightened senses acted as a living, real-time map of trouble spots. We built Web-Slinger Dispatch to give that same power to everyone. It’s an AI-powered tool that empowers citizens to become the eyes and ears of their city.

What It Does

It's basically a neighborhood watch on steroid. “Web-Slinger Dispatch” gives you a total view of your neighborhood’s safety by monitoring reports from people in that area. Imagine a thunderstorm just rolled through Arlington. The official alert on your phone might tell you there's a power outage in the area—that's the big picture. But what it won’t tell you, right at this moment, is that a tree has fallen and is completely blocking Cooper Street. That’s where our app comes in. A bystander can file a report 'A tree is blocking the road on Cooper Street!' Instantly, that critical detail is added to the live map for first responders and other drivers to see. This highlights our core idea of this project, heroism through the ability to look out for our community.” "Web-Slinger Dispatch" is also equipped with an AI chat bot that do various task like assisting in filing a report, or finding out what's happening in your proximity. This app is also available in three languages: English, Vietnamese, and Spanish.

How We Built It

We use React with Typescript to build our webapp. Google Gemini API is used to create a personalized assistant who provide you with real time and actionable information on the live map. ElevenLabs generates text to speech, with a more expressive and humanlike tone, to warn users about imminent threats that are close to them. Leaflet allows us to display the interactive map, both locally and globally, with live location tracking. Auth0 provides secure authentication and authorization platform for multiple users, which enables us to make sure that the information provided will come from a source that can be traced back to. Convex is our backend infrastructure service, updating our map in real time across all users. Finally, we deploy the site by using Railway.

Challenges We Ran Into

One of the main challenges we ran into was integrating Gemini API and ElevenLabs into our system, since it was new to us. All four of us were also new to Hackathons. We started off strong with a promising idea, however, it took us a while to understand that not all of our goals were attainable within such a short time window.

Accomplishment That We Are Proud Of

Surviving our first Hackathon was the first accomplishment that we could think of. Beside that, we are particularly proud of successfully integrating AI into an app that can make real impact on our local communities. We take the friendly neighborhood heroism ideology of Spiderman and run with it. Combined with AI-powered features, this will make our neighborhood much safer and more accessible to the general public.

What We Learned

This project taught us how to plan and develop a webapp, including effectively utilize Gemini API and ElevenLabs to work with our code. The competition also highlighted our individual strengths and weaknesses, forcing us to work together in order to complete the tasks at hand.

What's Next

If we were to make the next version of this app, automatic text alerts for close-proximity threats should be implemented, especially through SMS notification. We also aim to include an aggregated analytical tool for users like community leader or prospect residents to get a total view of incident reports of their area; this could include the official police reports to provide verified data. The biggest flaw of this app is vulnerable to user abuse, leading inaccurate and disingenuous reports. This can be fixed by a community-based user rating system, or a program that can detect spam/troll information. Additionally, we hope to refine the user experience by adding the true hands-free experience as well as more languages for users to choose. We'd love to come back to this project and make it happen for real.