Overview
Sora is a mobile travel assistant app built with React Native that acts as a personalized local guide. Users answer a short questionnaire and the AI generates a fully customized itinerary: factoring in budget, schedule, travel companions, dietary needs, accessibility requirements, and more. The app simulates the experience of having a knowledgeable local by your side at every stop.
What I built
- Developing the mobile app with React Native, architecting the full screen flow from onboarding to AI-generated route output.
- Integrated an AI layer for smart itinerary planning and contextual narration of each visited location, simulating a local guide experience.
- Designed the full UI in Figma covering all final and MVP screens, and published the landing page.
- Planned features include a packing assistant with climate-based recommendations, weather alerts, and an interactive map of visited places.
MVP Scope
The initial release focuses on a lean, chat-style experience — no home feed, no navbar — dropping users directly into the planner:
- Onboarding before first use, with optional sign-in (only required to save route history).
- Core screens: Login, Register, Email Verification, Planner, History, and Settings.
- Monetization per route: Users pay before a route is generated, with sample pre-generated routes available for preview.
- Export options:
- Route exported directly to Google Maps.
- PDF containing: key location stories, packing tips, local laws and customs, currency info, basic phrases in the local language, and more.
Planner: AI Route Generation
The planner questionnaire collects everything needed to generate a fully tailored itinerary:
- Destination city and accommodation location.
- Start and end dates.
- Budget breakdown: leisure, shopping, food, and transport.
- Transport type preferred by the user.
- Travel companions: pets, children.
- Special conditions: fears, food intolerances, disabilities.
Final Vision (Post-MVP)
Home
Personalized feed with featured countries, upcoming planned trips, travel-type recommendations (jungle, beach, mountain, city), route suggestions based on current location, and top 4 destinations.
Route Preview
Full route detail page with main photo, tags, distance, duration, difficulty, map overview, highlights carousel (paid) or full stop list (free), inclusions, creator info, and a pay/start CTA.
Active Route
Live map with the selected route. Paid routes unlock the AI assistant, route history, mid-route editing, and contextual stories for each key stop.
Profile
- Public view: followers, following, routes created, bio, world map of visited countries and cities, top 3 routes, travel photo carousel, and route list.
- Owner view: all of the above plus editable profile data, upcoming trips, and a privacy toggle.
Saved
A dedicated screen listing all routes saved by the user.
Technologies Used
- Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript.
- Mobile: React Native, Expo.
- Frontend: React, Tailwind CSS.
- Backend: NodeJS, Express.
- ORM: Sequalize.
- Database: MySQL.
- AI: AI Agent for route generation and contextual narration.
- Infrastructure: Docker, Coolify.
- Design: Figma, Canva.
- Project Management: Trello, Agile methodologies.
- Version Control: Git, GitHub, Git workflow, Pull Request reviews.