u/Horror_Garlic_8242

I started working on a weird little side project for university campuses: an offline AI-assisted Lost & Found system.

The idea is pretty simple:

Someone loses an item → they report it with a photo → someone finds an item → they upload another photo → the system tries to determine whether the two items might be the same.

Instead of relying entirely on keywords like "black wallet" or "blue umbrella," I'm experimenting with image matching to compare things like visual appearance, colors, and other image features.

The weird part is that I'm specifically trying to make it work offline.

No cloud AI. No sending people's lost-item photos to some random server. The goal is for the school to be able to run the whole thing locally.

I started it because university Lost & Found systems are usually surprisingly manual. Someone writes down "black bag found near library," and then another person has to manually check dozens of reports.

Right now I'm building the prototype with Python, Flask, OpenCV, NumPy, and SQLite.

The system currently has Lost item reporting, Found item reporting, Unique item codes, Photo uploads, Automatic image comparison, Text-based matching, Suggested possible matches, A dashboard for managing reports

It's definitely not perfect yet. 😂

One of my early tests basically looked at two completely unrelated objects and went, "Yep, these might be the same thing."

So now I'm trying to improve the matching algorithm and reduce ridiculous false matches.

The end goal is a system where a guard or school staff member can take a photo of a found item and immediately see the most likely lost-item reports.

It's a pretty niche problem, but I'm honestly surprised how fun it is to build.

I'm curious: what's the weirdest real-world problem you've ever built a side project to solve?

If I were starting from zero, I'd:

- Create 3-5 sample videos using products I already own

-build a simple portfolio

-DM small brands with a personalized pitch

-Follow up instead of giving up after one message

-Focus on improving my client, not just gaining followers

You don't need 10k followers to start. You need proof that you can create content brands want.

For those already doing UGC: what actually landed you your first paid client?

I was a slight developer either mobile or web application devloper. My first project that I created successfully is a KIndergarten Mobile application. I noticed that many children in our generation are fully aware in technology especially mobile phones. So instead of wasting their time to nonsense video or games , I created this idea so that the can play while still learning. The programming language that I used is C++/C# with the Unity Engine for the set up of the UI. The content of my application ahve many types of games such as find correct colors, identify correct animals, identify correct alphabet letters, etc. And after I pilot test my mobile application, some mother of my target children client says to me that "It works to her child, and help her to lessen her work", there is also a feedback suggestion it says " you need to add more type of games at improve more graphics" , and yes that is my plan but my money won't cooperate HAHA . If I were you, What would you add to make it more usefull?

I've been looking into UGC lately, and one thing I'm curious about is how beginners get their first few clients when they don't have much of a portfolio yet.
Frome what I've seen, one approach is to create a few sample videos using product you already have at home, then uses those as portfolio pieces when reaching out to brands.
I'm also wondering how much personalization matters when doing outreach. is it better to send fewer, highly personalized, or contact a lot of brands with a simple pitch?

For those already doing UGC, what actually worked for you when you were starting out?

I was a slight developer either mobile or web application devloper. My first project that I created successfully is a KIndergarten Mobile application. I noticed that many children in our generation are fully aware in technology especially mobile phones. So instead of wasting their time to nonsense video or games , I created this idea so that the can play while still learning. The programming language that I used is C++/C# with the Unity Engine for the set up of the UI. The content of my application ahve many types of games such as find correct colors, identify correct animals, identify correct alphabet letters, etc. And after I pilot test my mobile application, some mother of my target children client says to me that "It works to her child, and help her to lessen her work", there is also a feedback suggestion it says " you need to add more type of games at improve more graphics" , and yes that is my plan but my money won't cooperate HAHA . If I were you, What would you add to make it more usefull?

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