ArchSmarter was inspired by both Shazam concept and applications that are able to identify the artist as well as the name of the painting, using modern machine learning techniques. It recognizes the architectural style of a structure based on a single photograph in record time. In addition to this, the solution is a hybrid one, available on desktop or phone, both on iOS and Android, and serves as a friend of the user who is passionate about art and travel, as well as future and current architecture students. Furthermore, the original element of the method is that the program itself may become a user log and provide access to several features.
The application successfully combines a pleasant user experience with complex functionality. It includes a user-friendly and straightforward graphical interface built using the Ionic framework, and the user benefits from a precise result when answering queries like "What architectural style does this building have?". In other words, ArchSmarter provides a set of features that address the challenge of recognizing architectural style using a neural network-based model. After making an account on the platform, you will be able to access the machine learning algorithm. It can determine, with only a few clicks, the architectural style of the structure which stands in front of the user or of a building from images saved on his own phone. Furthermore, the user may examine all of the buildings he has scanned in a screen of the program, along with some metadata such as the time, date, and location where the photo was taken, but also extra information of the architectural style detected for the associated structure. In order to encourage "beauty-hunting" and travel, the app provides a distribution and voting mechanism in which users are encouraged to post images of their buildings and vote for photographs of distributed buildings (by other app users) in the public feed. Last but not least, the program has a feedback system in which the user may submit observations, inconveniences, or good features that may have an indirect impact on the quality of services provided by ArchSmarter. As a result, the application is shown in its entirety and strives to ensure that the solution is available to each user.