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Interactive map
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Museum on chain
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Submission page in dark mode
Inspiration
When we first came together as a team, we shared a common desire: to create something meaningful. We wanted to build a project that not only leveraged cutting-edge technology but also made a lasting impact on society. In recent years, we've witnessed the tragic shut-down of museums due to covid, natural disasters, and government mismanagement. It hurts us to see these pieces of our collective history dwindling with time. Motivated by this, we wanted to create a solution that preserves history in a way that is resilient and permanent. Arweave's promise of permanent, decentralized storage aligned perfectly with our mission.
What it does
AoMuseum is a decentralized application (dApp) that leverages Arweave's permanent storage to create an immutable archive of museums and historical sites around the world. Users can upload photos of these cultural landmarks, which are then stored permanently on the blockchain. The application features an interactive world map powered by Mapbox, allowing users to explore and discover these sites globally. By crowdsourcing contributions, AoMuseum aims to safeguard cultural heritage and make it accessible for future generations to learn from and appreciate.
How we built it
We developed a smart contract written in Lua that stores images hashed with Base64 encoding on the Arweave blockchain. To visualize the locations of these historical sites, we integrated the Mapbox component for an interactive map experience. For the front-end, we utilized shadcn, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly interface.
Challenges we ran into
Our journey was not without challenges. None of us had prior experience coding in Lua, the language essential for smart contracts on Arweave. Learning Lua from scratch was daunting, and we faced a steep learning curve.
Moreover, we encountered unexpected compatibility issues between Next.js and the Arweave Wallet Kit. After long hours of debugging and late nights trying different versions, there were moments of frustration when solutions seemed out of reach.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Despite the setbacks, we are proud to have overcome the difficulties we faced. We managed to deliver a functional app with a nice UI that serves a meaningful purpose—preserving history. Our team's collaboration and determination were key to achieving this milestone.
What we learned
We learned how to use the Mapbox API to create an interactive map, which was honestly very satisfying to get working. We also gained proficiency in Lua and deepened our understanding of the Arweave blockchain and its decentralized storage solutions.
What's next for AoMuseum
We are excited to continue building on this foundation. Our future plans include:
- Expanding the Database: Adding more museums and historical sites to our platform.
- User Contributions: Allowing users to contribute content, much like Wikipedia, to enrich the platform.
- AI Fact-Checking: Implementing AI to verify the authenticity of uploaded images.
- Collaborations: Partnering with museums to make our platform an official hub for historical treasures.
- VR implementation for full immersion.
Our vision is to become a global repository—a hub for the world's historical treasures—ensuring that culture and history are preserved and accessible to all.
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