FlowSense

Tech Stack

Frontend: React
Backend: Django
Database: PostgreSQL

Project Overview

FlowSense is an innovative reading tool designed to assist users in digesting advanced reports and dense texts using a sentence-based approach. Our goal is to enhance the reading experience by making it more interactive, visual, and efficient, especially for Gen Z users who often face challenges in maintaining focus.

Inspiration

During our internships, we frequently encountered complex reports filled with unfamiliar concepts. As members of Gen Z, we found it challenging to concentrate without constant distractions. We identified two main issues:

Tedious Definitions: Obtaining definitions for unfamiliar terms is cumbersome and disruptive. Google searches lack context, and using tools like split screens with ChatGPT is slow and inefficient.
Reading Progress: It's difficult to remember what has already been read and what hasn't, especially after taking breaks.

This led us to create FlowSense, a tool designed to enhance reading productivity by encouraging the use of keyboard shortcuts, allowing users to focus on the current sentence without distractions.

Key Features

Text Highlighting: Colorful progress indicators help users quickly identify what they've read and their current reading position.
GPT-Based Explanations: Contextual definitions and explanations are generated using ChatGPT, providing more relevant information than a standard search.
Progress Bar: A visual indicator of reading progress.
Embedded Definitions: Users can quickly recall meanings or abbreviations by embedding definitions within the text.
Annotations: Users can insert their own notes, similar to text blocks in Jupyter Notebooks.

Potential Additional Features

ML-Enhanced Vocabulary: Use machine learning to pre-identify potentially difficult words.
Customization: Options to change keybindings, colors, enable dark mode, and hide command displays.
Project Management: Save and organize multiple reading projects, similar to Google Docs.
Multi-Sentence Selection: Allow users to select and interact with multiple sentences at once.
Word Selection: Enable selection and interaction with individual words.
Sentence-Based Navigation: Users can progress through text one sentence at a time using keyboard shortcuts, maintaining focus.
Sentence Marking: Users can highlight significant sentences in different colors for easy reference.