🔐 Authentication#

• User registration and login
• Email-based authentication with Firebase Auth
• Password reset functionality
• Secure user session management

📱 Core Functionality#

• Post Creation: Users can create listings with photos, descriptions, and prices
• AI Image Recognition: Automatic object detection and classification using Google ML Kit
• Location-Based Discovery: Find items near your location using GPS
• Real-time Chat: Communicate with sellers through post-specific chat rooms
• User Profiles: Manage your own posts and account information

🎯 Main Screens#

• Explore: Browse all available posts from other users with distance calculations
• Chat: View and participate in conversations for all posts
• Profile: Manage your posts and account settings
• Post Details: View detailed information about items including AI descriptions

Frontend#

• Language: Kotlin
• UI Framework: Android Views with ViewBinding
• Architecture: Activity-based with Firebase integration

Backend & Services#

• Authentication: Firebase Auth
• Database: Cloud Firestore
• Storage: Firebase Storage for images
• ML/AI: Google ML Kit for object detection

Key Dependencies#

• Firebase SDK (Auth, Firestore, Storage)
• Google Play Services (Location, Maps)
• ML Kit Object Detection
• Picasso for image loading
• CircleImageView for profile pictures

Prerequisites#

• Android Studio Arctic Fox or later
• Android SDK API 24+
• Google Services JSON configuration file

Installation#

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd peer-store

2. Firebase Setup

   • Create a new Firebase project at console.firebase.google.com
   • Enable Authentication (Email/Password)
   • Enable Cloud Firestore
   • Enable Firebase Storage
   • Download google-services.json and place it in app/

3. Configure Permissions The app requires the following permissions:

   • INTERNET - For Firebase connectivity
   • ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION - For location-based features
   • ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION - For location services
   • CAMERA - For taking photos of items

4. Build and Run

   ./gradlew assembleDebug

AI-Powered Image Recognition#

When users create posts, the app automatically analyzes uploaded photos using Google ML Kit to:

• Detect objects in images
• Generate confidence scores for identified items
• Provide automatic descriptions to supplement user descriptions

Location Services#

• Calculate distances between user location and posted items
• Display items sorted by proximity
• GPS integration for accurate positioning

Real-time Chat System#

• Post-specific chat rooms stored in Firestore
• Real-time message synchronization
• User identification in chat messages

User Experience#

• Clean, Material Design-inspired interface
• Bottom navigation for easy screen switching
• Image rotation handling for camera captures
• Responsive layouts for different screen sizes

Users Collection#

{
  "posts": ["postId1", "postId2", ...]
}

Posts Collection#

{
  "title": "Item title",
  "image": "https://firebase-storage-url",
  "imageName": "unique-image-name.jpg", 
  "descriptionAI": "AI-generated description",
  "descriptionOwner": "User description",
  "price": "100",
  "owner": "userId",
  "latitude": 40.7128,
  "longitude": -74.0060,
  "globalChat": ["userId_message1", "userId_message2", ...]
}