AI Nature Discovery & Exploration Platform

I’m building an AI-powered nature discovery and exploration platform for web and mobile that combines species identification, autogenerated field-guide profiles, community-driven identification, and gamified outdoor exploration. Users will be able to photograph organisms such as insects, frogs, plants, shells, fungi, and other wildlife, and the app will identify the species using AI, generate modern illustrated field-guide style species pages, and permanently cache those entries for future discoveries. The platform will include community-assisted identification similar to iNaturalist, allowing user confirmations and suggestions to influence uncertain IDs over time. Gamification and discovery are a major focus, with features like journals, collections, achievements, first-discovery recognition, explorer progression systems, and seasonal exploration mechanics designed to encourage users to go outside and explore nature.

The visual direction is a calm atmospheric “digital naturalist” aesthetic inspired by modern field guides and the existing style of my app Frog Spot, featuring immersive dark/light modes, soft muted colors, elegant typography, and a clean explorer-focused interface that feels modern, relaxing, and easy on the eyes rather than overly technical or rugged.

Technically, the project will likely use React Native + Expo for mobile, React for web, Node.js/Express for the backend, MongoDB for data storage, AI integrations such as Google Gemini for image-based species identification and profile generation, and cloud storage for images and generated assets. I’m looking for someone comfortable working across modern frontend/backend systems, AI API integrations, scalable database architecture, caching systems, image upload flows, gamification systems, and polished UI/UX implementation.