JarGone - Simple Language

screenshots displaying the extension popup

Inspiration

The inspiration for JarGone stemmed from the challenges many people face when trying to understand complex text online. Non-native speakers, students, and even professionals often encounter jargon and technical language that hinders their ability to fully comprehend important information. We wanted to create a tool that not only simplifies this text but also empowers users to learn new vocabulary in context. The idea was to build something that makes the web more inclusive and accessible for everyone, regardless of their background or language proficiency.

What it does

JarGone is a browser extension that simplifies complex text into easy-to-understand language with a single click. Users can:

Select and simplify any text on a webpage to make it clearer.
Access contextual tooltips for difficult words, showing definitions, grammatical types, and simplified meanings without replacing the original text.
Extract and highlight key terms, providing additional learning opportunities.
Translate the simplified text and definitions into the user’s preferred language.
Customize the experience by enabling features like text replacement, confetti animations, and language selection.

How we built it

Frontend: Built using React and MUI (Material UI) to create a clean, responsive, and interactive user interface.
AI Backend: Leveraged Google Chrome’s Gemini Nano model through its Prompt API to analyze and simplify text dynamically.
Bundling: Used WXT to package and bundle the extension files for easy deployment and installation.
Context Menu & Tooltips: Implemented Chrome’s context menu API for text selection and dynamic tooltip generation to display word meanings.

Challenges we ran into

Integration with Gemini Nano API: As an experimental feature, the API required careful handling to ensure accurate and contextually appropriate simplifications. Plus, since this is my first browser extension, it was challenging to get everything bundled properly.
Balancing simplicity with accuracy: Simplifying text without losing the original meaning was a challenge. I had to fine-tune prompts to ensure the AI preserved essential information. Also, designing a fun UI to work with required a lot of thought.
Tooltip placement: Ensuring tooltips appeared correctly and did not overlap or obstruct important webpage elements required careful UI/UX considerations.
Language support: Providing accurate translations while maintaining the simplified nature of the text was another technical hurdle.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully creating an AI-powered tool that simplifies complex text while maintaining contextual accuracy.
Developing a seamless and user-friendly interface that integrates naturally into the browser’s context menu.
Implementing multilingual support, making the extension accessible to users from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
Achieving a balance between text simplification and vocabulary building, helping users learn while they read.
Offering customizable features like text replacement and tooltips, enhancing user engagement and control.

What we learned

The importance of accessibility: Simplifying language can significantly enhance web accessibility, especially for non-native speakers and users with limited technical knowledge.
AI prompt engineering: Crafting effective prompts for the AI to accurately simplify text without distorting meaning was a valuable learning experience.
User experience matters: Small features like confetti animations and tooltip positioning can make a big difference in user satisfaction and engagement.
Challenges of multilingual support: Providing accurate, context-aware translations is complex and requires continuous testing and optimization.

What's next for JarGone - Simple Language

Improved AI model integration: Explore other AI models, chain Gemini Nano APIs together for even better text simplification and localizations.
Expanded language support: Add more languages and dialects to cater to a wider audience. Localize the extension itself (although the building blocks have been set up for this).
Customization enhancements: Allow users to customize the level of simplification, from basic to advanced, based on their needs.
Mobile compatibility: Adapt JarGone for mobile devices.
User analytics and feedback: Implement a feedback system to gather user insights and continuously improve the extension.
Integration with educational platforms: Partner with e-learning platforms like Duolingo to provide simplified text and vocabulary-building features directly within educational content.