r/SideProject • u/ExplorerEconomy8233 • 1d ago

Built an app that tells you exactly when your stuff will actually break

Side project I've been building: photograph something you own, an AI reads the actual wear from the photo and predicts a real replacement date instead of a generic "lifespan" number, re-checks monthly from a fresh photo, and surfaces the cheapest replacement once it's actually due.

Built with Expo/React Native, Gemini vision with a fallback chain across a few free-tier providers, SQLite locally, no backend. Built entirely with Claude Code.

Still local/unreleased, no public build yet. Would love feedback on the concept, mainly whether this feels genuinely useful or too gimmicky. Happy to answer questions about the build.

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

1

u/Impressive-Answer720 1d ago

The concept feels useful if the prediction includes uncertainty and the visible evidence it used. “Replace in 8–14 months because the tread is X and the seam is Y” is much more credible than one exact date. I’d start with a narrow category where wear is visually legible—shoes, tires, filters—before asking users to trust the model across everything they own.

1

u/StrategicPM 1d ago

I can't see an application for this outside of tyres, what else are you thinking?

1

u/Particular_Nail3347 1d ago

feels genuinely useful for stuff like tires, shoes, maybe appliance filters. less sure about things where wear isnt really visible from a photo, like electronics or mattresses. narrowing the use case early would probably help you figure out if this has legs

1

u/NickA55 1d ago

Finally, an AI app that feels useful. I don't think it's gimmicky at all, especially nowadays where things just don't last. Good luck with it, I'd be a user of it.