As students and researchers, we encounter scenarios where it would be convenient to further analyze or document real-life text through our laptops. This, however, is often a tedious process as there is no simple way to get the text from the real world to the digital. Sometimes, we manually type out the words; sometimes, we take a picture and send it as a PDF. Fortunately, with PhotoPaste, this process goes from a tedious nightmare to a breeze.
PhotoPaste captures an image containing text, scans the portion highlighted by the user, and pastes it into the counterpart Chrome extension. This is then instantly available to paste anywhere on the laptop.
We used Tailwind CSS and React for the website and HTML/CSS/JS for the extension. We utilized Google Cloud (API and services) and Firebase for the backend development and integration. We also used Cloud Vision API to set up our project's AI/ML aspect.
We had to get creative with our tools, as they were mostly in developer mode. This meant developing clever ways to make them work for everyone on the team. Take the OAuth0 API in our Chrome extension, for example. Since we were forced to run our extension locally, we only had some of the usual bells and whistles available for a fully published extension. However, despite this, we could make do with what we had and ultimately overcome these challenges.
We are particularly proud of the text-highlighting feature on our text-scanning app. None of us had ever created such an advanced feature, so pushing ourselves to grow so much was incredible. This was the first time anyone on the team made a Chrome extension. While this was a more straightforward feat than the text highlighting, it is still something we are all proud of.
Each of us has undoubtedly gained valuable technical experience from this endeavor. For half of our team, this was the first web-based project in their entire lives. However, more so than the specialized experience, we are more thankful for the teamwork we've demonstrated and the friendships we've developed. We've learned a deeper appreciation for working with others, one that we all are sure will continue to benefit us long after the conclusion of the SpartaHack 9 hackathon.
The next step for PhotoPaste will be to develop it into a full-fledged mobile app. While a website is sufficient for this hackathon, a mobile app would provide a more seamless user experience. Additionally, we would like to expand PhotoPastes' capabilities beyond simple text copying and pasting. While the specifics will be left to the reader's imagination, know that PhotoPaste still has a bright future.
