DishCraft

HomePage of the DishCraft App
View Showing List of Recipes
Detailed View of A Recipe

Inspiration

The idea for DishCraft came from a desire to reduce food waste, promote sustainability, and encourage healthy eating habits. As a society, we throw away far too much food and often buy more than we need or let ingredients go to waste. By using DishCraft, users can feel confident that they are making the most of what they have, reducing waste, and creating delicious, health-conscious meals.

What it does

DishCraft is a user-friendly app that allows users to input their preferences, cravings, ingredients they have on hand, and any other information and then generates recipe suggestions based on that information. The app incorporates AI and machine learning algorithms to suggest recipes that are both delicious and healthy, taking into account dietary restrictions and preferences. Users can also save and share their favorite recipes for future use.

How we built it

DishCraft was built using a variety of new frontier technologies, including:

Android Studio: for developing the app interface and functionality
OpenAI: for natural language processing and recipe recommendation algorithms

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges in building DishCraft was developing the AI and machine learning algorithms used to suggest recipes. We aspired to train and develop our own AI and Chatbot models, but were held back by technical restrictions, and time. It required a lot of experimentation especially with lack of computing power for large subsets of data. Hence, fine-tuning to ensure that the app was accurately recommending recipes based on user inputs became difficult. However, with the help of the OpenAI libraries, we were able to develop a product that envisions our goal within the limited time while taking into account a wide range of ingredients, dietary preferences, and nutritional information.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

One of the biggest accomplishments of DishCraft is its potential impact on the environment and human health. By reducing food waste and encouraging healthy eating habits, the app can help users make more sustainable choices and promote long-term health. DishCraft also fosters a closer relationship for users who find and share recipes that they enjoy.

What we learned

Through DishCraft, we prototyped using Python, NLP libraries, OpenAI API, and InterSystems IntegratedML to train and deploy a chatbot. We also created a SQL database for storing the recipe list, and we used Flask to create an API endpoint for the app. Ultimately, we decided to use OpenAI API to handle requests and the Android Room Database to store recipes. We learned how to integrate OpenAI models with an Android app, and we discussed the sustainability and healthcare benefits of such an app, as well as the potential for new frontier technologies like AI and ML in the field of cooking. At the end of this project, we gained experience in software development, machine learning, and integrating APIs, as well as the importance of problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration in such a project. We also recognized the potential for further improvements, such as adding more recipes, improving the NLP capabilities of the chatbot, and exploring other use cases for this technology.

What's next for DishCraft

While DishCraft is already a powerful tool for home cooks, there are several potential improvements that could be made in the future.

Reverse Dish Recipe Identifier

We could incorporate image recognition technology to detect ingredients and recipes for dishes from pictures taken by users.

Social Networking

We could also expand the app's capabilities to include social networking features, such as the ability to post recipes and recipe ratings with friends and family.

Schedule Cooking Times with Recipes

We could also improve the app to allow users to schedule when they would love to try out the recipe and combine that with the social networking feature so that people could foster relationships while cooking together.