Snap&Vroom | Devpost

Inspiration

The idea came from the photo booth at the hackathon. We loved how a simple picture could capture a moment, start a conversation and create an engaging experience. We thought: What if taking a photo could do even more. That spark turned into Snap&Vroom.

What it does

Our app transforms the car-rental checkout into a personalized, AI-powered trip experience. It starts with a simple photo: users can take a picture that becomes both a printed memory and the key to understanding their trip style — whether it’s a girls’ weekend, a mountain adventure, a family holiday, or a business trip.

Based on the photo, the app automatically recommends a tailored package that fits the vibe of the trip. If the user skips the photo, they receive a basic package.

Next, the app presents add-ons, with several options already preselected by AI depending on the chosen package. If CarPlay is selected or included, the app also generates personalized music recommendations to match the mood of the trip.

Users are then shown their current vehicle and smart upgrade suggestions, helping them discover better-suited options in a clear and intuitive way.

Finally, the app offers a simplified insurance view, with two choices: no protection or protection. The recommended option is preselected using AI based on the user’s package and trip type.

In the end, the user moves through a checkout journey that feels personalized, fun, and effortless — reducing decision fatigue while increasing clarity, confidence, and upsell potential.

How we built it

We built our app natively in SwiftUI, designing a smooth and fast checkout flow that matches the Sixt look and feel. For data, vehicle options, protection packages, and add-ons, we integrated the official Sixt HackaTUM API, which powers every step — from booking creation to vehicle assignment.

To make the journey intelligent and personalized, we used OpenAI on the backend. The AI processes the user’s photo to detect the trip vibe (e.g., girls trip, mountain adventure) and recommends the most suitable package, add-ons, and even personalized music suggestions when CarPlay is selected.

Our backend layer combines the Sixt API with custom OpenAI logic to generate these recommendations in real time. SwiftUI then renders all screens — from photo capture to package selection, add-ons, vehicle upsell, and insurance — as a seamless, app-like experience.

Together, this architecture allowed us to build a dynamic, personalized rental journey that feels intuitive, emotional, and fun.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was defining a checkout flow that actually made sense for users. We had to decide what should happen first — the photo, the package, the add-ons, the car, the insurance — and in which order each step felt natural while still supporting Sixt’s upsell goals. Finding the balance between personalization, clarity, and conversion required a lot of iteration.

Another challenge was figuring out which information truly matters for recommending the “best” car. From a single photo, we needed to infer a trip vibe (girls trip, family holiday, city weekend, mountain adventure) and translate that into meaningful suggestions: Which car category fits this? Which add-ons make sense? Which protection option should be preselected?

Designing this logic was harder than expected — we had to make AI suggestions feel helpful, not random, and always reasonable from a business perspective.

We also had to think deeply about how to make the upsell experience persuasive without feeling pushy. What visual cues encourage users to explore upgrades? How do we present protection options so the benefits are clear? How do we show add-ons in a way that feels helpful rather than overwhelming?

With limited time, aligning user needs, business goals, and technical constraints was challenging — but in the end, everything came together into a flow that feels fun, intuitive, and smart.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Reimagined a routine rental process and turned it into something engaging and memorable, by focusing on user emotion, building the idea around excitement, memory-making, and personal connection.