An app that allows users to take a picture of any object, match it against the Universal Registry of Things and instantly evaluate or learn about its potential for reuse and upcycling.
Description
The app allows citizens, members of zero waste initiatives, repair professionals or anyone interested to quickly evaluate the potential value of an object, and find information on how to reuse it.
Functionalities:
- Make/upload picture
- *server-side computer vision matches against the database)
- Browse by brand or type
- Search
Relation to other concept ideas
Point and Reuse is mainly a user/citizen interface for the Universal Registry of Things.
Open Questions
- How reliable are the computer vision possibilities?
- Other ways to identify: serial number, RFID, qr code / barcode
- Privacy / security (unintended effects)
Sketches
to come
Main target groups
- Community Reuse
- Professional Repair
- Citizen / Household
Supporting Research Data
"So I guess- I don’t know about you guys really, but what I’ve noticed, there is a- For example, the food mixers I work on, these Kenwood Chefs, a lot of them, different variants. To replace those with the modern equivalent would be between £200 and £400. But the repair would be a tenth, roughly, to me, of that purchase. So the old item, it doesn’t matter how old it is, still has value."
References
Google Lens
Search what you see
ODK - Object Detection Kit
Convert garbage into resources The garbage on our streets can have a lot of value when it is repurposed. ODK aims to take a step forward into circularity, making it easier to give garbage a new life.
Pi Trash Classifier
Build a custom trash classifier using the Raspberry Pi and Lobe, a beginner-friendly machine learning program (without coding).
Plant identification apps
A list here:
Top free plant identification app picks
- PlantNet
- iNaturalist
- PlantSnap
Paid plant identification app picks
- PictureThis
- FlowerChecker
- Garden Compass
Other plant identification app picks
- Agrobase
- Plantix
- What’s That Flower
Images used on this page
- Header image: person taking photo by SHTTEFAN / Unsplash
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 813508.
