For many, the grocery store can feel like a battleground, filled with confusing labels and overwhelming choices. However, for Arjun Cattamanchi, a junior at Marvin Ridge High School, it presented a personal challenge.
"I'm not officially diagnosed with it, but I've had acid reflux since I was born," he shared. "That's why I must eat the right foods."
While his mom, the family's primary cook, was away, Arjun's father urged him to take charge of his dietary health. So, like any tech-savvy student might do, he developed an app. "NutriScan," a food scanner with an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) component, recently earned Arjun top honors in the 2024 Congressional App Challenge.
"NutriScan is essentially a food scanner," Arjun explained with enthusiasm. "Let's say you're at the grocery store and want to know if a product has a lot of protein, sugar or carbs—whatever you need for your health goals. You can scan the barcode and get all the nutritional information displayed. Then, you can even compare it with other products."
What truly sets NutriScan apart is its interactive AI chatbot, powered by Google's Gemini. It is not just your run-of-the-mill nutrition app; it's like having a personal health consultant at your fingertips.
"You can ask it anything," Arjun said. "For example, 'Which of these products has the most protein?' It will tell you, based on the data I've given it, and even give you additional information about other health goals you might have."
This personalized interaction is made possible by Arjun's innovative use of AI.
"AI isn't as complicated as you might think," he explained. "My app uses Google's Gemini model. Basically, I create a simulated conversation, feeding it data and teaching it how to analyze it."
Accuracy is paramount. Arjun uses two databases: the reliable Food and Drug Administration and the user-generated Open Food Facts.
"The FDA has excellent, accurate information," he said. "But Open Food Facts is user-managed, kind of like Wikipedia. So, I created an algorithm that cross-checks between the two, prioritizing the FDA data to ensure the information is as accurate as possible."
Arjun's passion for coding is entirely self-taught.
"I have never taken a programming class," he said. "My seventh-grade year was during COVID, and I was looking for a new hobby. That's when I started coding."
He initially built NutriScan for a competition, representing the school's Technology Student Association (TSA) club. Arjun didn't win but recognized the potential of his app. He refined it, updated the technology and entered the Congressional App Challenge.
"I knew the app had potential," he reflected. "I just felt like my presentation at the TSA competition wasn't great. I told the club officers I would submit it to this other competition later in the year, and I did!"
Arjun's dream is to make NutriScan accessible to everyone. He's working through the process of publishing it on app stores and is eager to share it with the world. He emphasized the app's intuitive design and the AI's data-driven insights.
"It's not just scraping information from the internet," he explained. "It's using real, curated data."
He even uses NutriScan himself.
"It's been really helpful for managing my acid reflux," he said. "Figuring out which foods are the best alternatives has become much easier."
He also tackled the challenge of different barcode formats around the world, developing an algorithm to recognize products from various countries.
His app will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year and featured on House.gov and CongressionalAppChallenge.us. He will receive an official certificate from Rep. Dan Bishop's office and is invited to #HouseofCode at the U.S. Capitol in April. Additionally, he can copyright his app for free.
Arjun isn't satisfied with just one success. He is currently developing an AI-powered customer support system for the school's Science and Engineering Fair Club, where he is training his own AI model and building a robust dialogue framework.
"It's a new club for me this year. I'm excited for the challenge," Arjun said. "I've seen my parents argue with robots over the phone when calling customer service. I thought there had to be a better way."
Arjun plans to pursue a career in AI, considering schools like the University of Washington and Stanford. His diverse talents extend beyond the digital world; he also enjoys composing music, a passion that fuels his unique approach to technology.
"I started piano when I was very young," Arjun recalls, "but eventually, I moved away from formal lessons and started experimenting on my own. That's how I discovered digital music production. Now, it's one of my other hobbies."
This creative exploration, he believes, is deeply connected to his work in technology.
"People sometimes underestimate how creative you have to be when working with technology," he observed. "It's about taking something you enjoy and pushing it further, finding new ways to express yourself."
02/19/2025
