LA Hacks 2023

LA Hacks is an annual student-led hackathon hosted at the University of California, Los Angeles. It is Southern California’s largest annual hackathon, taking place over 36 hours on UCLA’s campus. If you haven’t seen my 2022 Hackathon post, I would recommend reading that first!

We chose the “Home Away From Home” track this year:

Tired of your abode? It’s time to hit the road! We want to see projects that provide fresh hacks for travellers on the go. Help explorers make the most of transportation, tourist attractions, restaurants, events, and more.

Vagabond

Our love for travel and the desire to create a personalised experience for every adventurer inspired us to develop Vagabond. We wanted to eliminate the hassle of sifting through generic travel suggestions and empower users with tailor-made recommendations.

Vagabond is a travel website that allows users to input their interests, explore an interactive globe, and select their dream destination. It uses OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 model to generate personalised travel tips, off-the-beaten-path recommendations, and must-see attractions based on users' preferences.

The future for Vagabond includes refining the AI recommendations, expanding our database to cover more destinations, integrating real-time data for up-to-date suggestions, and developing a mobile app version to provide a seamless experience across devices.