In an increasingly urbanized and digital society, many people fail to notice or appreciate the plants in their own environments. This concept known as "plant blindness", has led to a significant decline in ecological literacy and conservation interest, particularly among college students. This project addresses this disconnect by developing Rooted, a socially engaged mobile app that turns botanical identification into a gamified experience. Rooted aims to motivate users to reconnect with their local ecosystems through active exploration and collection.
The application utilizes pre-trained plant identification deep learning models to provide accurate identification of flora from user images. While plant identification has become increasingly accessible, many apps struggle to engage beginners. Rooted focuses on gamification as an education tool. It employs mechanics such as location interactivity, progress tracking, and a reward system to sustain user engagement. The engineering challenge lies in designing an intuitive interface that educates a demographic of users who previously may not have been interested in botany.
While currently in the development phase, the project is designed to evaluate how mobile technology can be leveraged to foster sustainable behavioral change. By incentivizing the documentation of local plant life, Rooted seeks to use artificial intelligence as a bridge, rather than a barrier, between humans and the natural world. Ultimately, this project demonstrates that gamified computer vision can play a vital role in restoring ecological awareness and promoting long-term environmental stewardship.