Project Background

The Inspiration

In December, during the final days of packing up my flat in Cape Town, I visited Papermoon, a charming second-hand bookstore in Woodstock, to donate some books. This wasn't just any bookstore—it was a place I had frequented over my three years in the city, known for its unique, chaotic charm and family-run atmosphere.

During my visit, a conversation with the owner about my recent CA(SA) qualification led to a discussion about inventory management. The store's wonderfully chaotic nature raised questions about how inventory was tracked and valued.

The Challenge

The main challenge was clear: How could a small, independent bookstore efficiently manage its inventory without spending countless hours manually entering data? The store's charm lay in its somewhat disorganized nature, but this made tracking stock a significant challenge.

The Solution

The solution emerged from a combination of timing and technology. Having recently explored computer vision, I saw an opportunity to create an app that could leverage this technology to solve a real-world problem. The concept was simple but powerful: create an application that could scan bookshelves and automatically catalog their contents.

This approach would allow the bookstore to maintain its charming, somewhat chaotic atmosphere while gaining the benefits of modern inventory management—all without the burden of manual data entry.