Kerosene – Academic Research Companion for Discovering the Latest Papers

October 12, 2024

Overview

Kerosene is an advanced academic research application that enhances the way users browse, bookmark, and interact with research materials. It leverages AI-powered recommendations and summarization techniques to provide a personalized experience for researchers and students. With a Flutter frontend, a Next.js Website, a Node.js backend, and a MongoDB database, Kerosene efficiently manages user preferences, user bookmarks, journal subscriptions, and academic content.

Key Features

User Authentication: Supports Google and ORCID-based sign-ins.
Personalized Recommendations: AI-driven suggestions based on user reading history.
Bookmarking System: Easily save and access important research papers.
Journal Subscriptions: Follow journals and receive real-time updates.
Advanced Search: Quickly find relevant papers and publications.
AI-Powered Summarization: Automatically generated paper summaries for quick insights.

Architecture

Frontend: Flutter-based UI ensuring a smooth and responsive user experience.
Backend: Built with Node.js and Express, handling authentication, data storage, and recommendations.
Database: MongoDB for storing user preferences, research papers, and bookmarks.

Challenges and Learnings

Building Kerosene involved tackling:

Efficient data storage: Optimizing MongoDB queries for fast retrieval.
Smooth user experience: Using Flutter's state management for seamless navigation.
Scalability: Ensuring the recommendation system performs well with large datasets.

Deep Dive: The Architecture of Kerosene

1️⃣ Application Structure

Kerosene consists of four core components:

Flutter Mobile App 📱 (Primary research tool)
Next.js Website 🌐 (Landing page + bookmark sharing)
Node.js Backend ⚡ (API + AI processing)
Population Script 🛠️ (Fills database with research papers)

2️⃣ Mobile App: Features & UI Flow

The Flutter app has 13 screens, handling user authentication, recommendations, search, bookmarking, journal subscriptions, and profile settings.

🏁 User Onboarding & Authentication

Users sign in via Google or ORCID.
Onboarding screens (with interactive categories) personalize recommendations.

🔍 AI-Powered Research Paper Discovery

Home Screen: "For You" tab (AI-based recommendations) & "Following" tab (journals user follows).
Search Screen: Keyword-based + AI-boosted search.
Paper Details Screen: Shows AI-generated summary & metadata.
Bookmarks & Journal Subscriptions: Papers can be saved for later reading, and journals can be followed.

⚙️ User Profile & Preferences

Users can update reading preferences, manage bookmarks, and view followed journals.

3️⃣ Website: Bookmark Sharing & Legal Pages

The Next.js website serves two main purposes:

Acts as a landing page for Kerosene.
Allows users to share bookmarks using a Bookmark ID, making collaboration easier.

4️⃣ Backend API: Node.js + MongoDB

The backend is built with Node.js + Express and a MongoDB database. 📌 Main Backend Features:
✔️ User Authentication: Login via Google or ORCID.
✔️ Recommendation System: AI-powered research paper suggestions.
✔️ Bookmarks & Journal Management: Save and retrieve saved content.
✔️ Search API: Supports keyword-based queries.
✔️ Journal Subscription System: Follow/unfollow journals.
✔️ AI-Powered Summarization: Extracts key insights from papers.

🔗 Key API Routes

Authentication: Handled by ./routes/auth.
Papers: Handled by ./routes/papers.
Bookmarks: Handled by ./routes/bookmark.
Journal: Handled by ./routes/journal.

5️⃣ AI-Powered Enhancements

Kerosene leverages OpenAI’s API for:
🔹 Paper Summarization – Generates concise abstracts.
🔹 Keyword Extraction – Improves search accuracy.
🔹 Personalized Recommendations – AI filters relevant research papers.

Conclusion

Kerosene successfully provides an AI-powered, user-friendly, and efficient research tool. It streamlines academic content discovery, making it easier for users to stay updated with the latest papers.