CropOptima - Crop Disease Detection App

CropOptima is an Android application built during Bangkit Academy 2023 Batch 2 to detect crop disease using Machine Learning, with backend APIs and model deployment handled on a VPS for real-time inference.

Problem

Farmers needed a faster way to spot signs of crop disease. Manual inspection is slow and not always practical when a decision has to be made on the spot.

Solution

Built a Kotlin Android app that uses machine learning to help detect crop disease, with backend APIs and model deployment on a VPS so inference runs in real time.

Architecture Decisions

• Chose Kotlin for native Android development and direct access to Android platform capabilities
• Deployed ML model and backend APIs on a VPS for real-time inference
• Kept the mobile app and inference backend separated through API boundaries
• Focused the product flow on disease detection rather than broad farming features

Trade-offs

• Native Android over cross-platform — faster delivery for the Bangkit team scope, but iOS was not supported
• Server-side inference over on-device inference — easier model deployment, but depends on network access
• Focused disease detection scope over broad farm management features

Lessons Learned

• ML model accuracy heavily depends on training data quality
• Real agricultural data is noisy — need robust error handling
• Farmers prefer simple UI over feature-rich interfaces
• Agile methodology critical for 7-person team coordination

Features

• Machine Learning-based crop disease detection
• Android app built with Kotlin
• Backend API integration
• VPS-based model and API deployment
• User authentication (register, login, reset)
• Detection result visualization
• Responsive and intuitive UI

Challenges Overcome

• Deploying ML models and backend APIs on a VPS
• Handling real-time inference flow between Android and backend services
• Designing a user-friendly mobile interface for agricultural users
• Coordinating delivery in a multi-person Bangkit Academy capstone team

Achievement

• Top 50 National Teams, Bangkit Academy 2023 Batch 2