Building PitchPilot AI in Public 🚀
A few nights ago, I found myself wondering about something that most people probably don't think about until they're actually inside a stadium.
Imagine you've travelled to another country for the FIFA World Cup. The stadium is packed with tens of thousands of fans. You're trying to find your gate before kickoff, your phone has no signal, and you don't understand the local language.
Suddenly, something as simple as finding your seat becomes stressful.
That question stayed with me:
What if AI could make the match-day experience just a little easier?
So I started building PitchPilot AI—a GenAI-powered stadium assistant designed for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The goal wasn't to build another chatbot. I wanted to build something that could actually solve problems fans and stadium staff might face during a match.
🛑 The Problem
Modern stadiums are incredible, but they can also be overwhelming.
Fans often struggle with:
Finding the correct entrance or seating section.
Understanding stadium rules and bag policies.
Communicating with staff because of language barriers.
Getting quick information when the venue is crowded.
For stadium staff, handling thousands of visitors while responding quickly to incidents is equally challenging.
I wanted one application that could help both.
💡 The Solution
PitchPilot AI combines AI with practical stadium utilities instead of relying on AI for everything.
Rather than making users search through menus or FAQs, the assistant lets them simply ask questions naturally and get the information they need.
⚽ Features
🗺️ Smart Stadium Navigation
Users can find the quickest route to their seats using an interactive stadium map.
The navigation considers simulated crowd conditions, helping fans avoid congested areas and reach their section more efficiently.
🤖 AI Stadium Assistant
Powered by Google Gemini 2.0 Flash, the assistant answers common questions like:
Which gate should I enter?
Can I carry a backpack?
Where are the food courts?
Is wheelchair assistance available?
How do I reach the parking area?
Instead of searching through multiple pages, users simply ask.
🌍 Multilingual Support
Since the World Cup brings together fans from around the globe, PitchPilot AI supports conversations in six languages, making communication much easier for both visitors and stadium staff.
🚨 Incident Response Assistant
I also wanted the app to be useful behind the scenes.
PitchPilot AI can generate structured incident-response checklists within seconds, giving staff a quick starting point during emergencies.
⏳ Live Match Experience
Before kickoff, the dashboard displays a live countdown.
Once the match begins, the interface automatically switches to a live match simulation, making the experience feel much more engaging.
✅ Testing & Validation
Building the features was only part of the process—I also wanted to make sure they behaved consistently across different scenarios.
Rather than focusing only on the "happy path," I manually tested the core user journeys multiple times, including navigation, AI interactions, multilingual responses, and the live match experience.
Here's a quick overview of what I verified:
| Feature | Validation |
|---|---|
| Stadium Navigation | ✅ Verified route guidance between stadium sections |
| AI Stadium Assistant | ✅ Tested common fan questions and responses |
| Multilingual Support | ✅ Confirmed responses across supported languages |
| Incident Response | ✅ Verified structured checklist generation |
| Match Countdown | ✅ Confirmed automatic transition to live match simulation |
| Fallback Mode | ✅ Tested application behavior when AI responses were unavailable |
I also experimented with invalid prompts, empty inputs, and temporary AI service interruptions to ensure the application continued providing a smooth experience whenever possible.
## 🏗️ Architecture
User
│
▼
HTML • CSS • JavaScript
│
▼
FastAPI Backend
│
▼
Google Gemini API
│
▼
AI Response
The frontend handles the user interface and interactions, while FastAPI manages communication with the Gemini API. Keeping these responsibilities separate made the application easier to organize and maintain as new features were added.
## 🔒 Reliability & Error Handling
Since AI services can occasionally become unavailable, I wanted PitchPilot AI to remain useful even when AI-powered responses couldn't be generated.
To achieve this, I implemented a graceful fallback mechanism. If an AI request fails or exceeds the available quota, the application continues providing access to core non-AI features such as stadium navigation, the match countdown, and the overall interface instead of displaying a broken or unusable page.
This approach improves reliability and ensures users can continue using essential functionality even during temporary service interruptions.
## ⚡ Performance & Efficiency
Since stadium visitors often need information quickly, I tried to keep the application lightweight and responsive.
Some of the decisions that helped include:
- Keeping the frontend lightweight with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Using FastAPI for efficient backend request handling
- Calling the Gemini API only when AI assistance is actually needed
- Separating AI-powered features from non-AI utilities so the application remains useful even during service interruptions
These choices helped reduce unnecessary processing while keeping interactions fast and responsive.
♿ Accessibility
PitchPilot AI is designed to be easy to use for as many people as possible.
Some of the design considerations include:
- Responsive layouts for desktop and mobile devices
- Clear typography for improved readability
- High-contrast interface elements
- Simple navigation with minimal user interactions
- Straightforward conversational interface that reduces the need to search through menus
There is still room for improvement, and future versions will focus on expanding accessibility support even further.
🛠️ The Unexpected Challenge
One challenge I didn't anticipate was working within the Gemini API quota during development. While testing different prompts and refining the assistant, I occasionally reached the request limit, which interrupted my testing workflow.
Rather than treating it as just another error, it made me think about how users would experience the application if AI became temporarily unavailable.
That experience changed the way I approached the project. Instead of relying entirely on AI, I focused on designing an application that remains useful even when AI services aren't available.
It reminded me that reliability is just as important as intelligence when building real-world AI applications.
🏗️ Tech Stack
Frontend
- HTML5
- CSS3
- JavaScript (ES6)
Backend
- FastAPI
- Python
AI
- Google Gemini 2.0 Flash
Deployment
- Docker
- Vercel
Development
- Git & GitHub
- Visual Studio Code
I could have added more services and frameworks, but I wanted to spend my time solving user problems instead of making the architecture more complicated than it needed to be.
💭 What I Learned
Every project teaches something different.
For me, PitchPilot AI reinforced three things:
AI works best when it solves a specific problem instead of trying to do everything.
Small details—like graceful fallbacks and clear navigation—often matter more than flashy features.
Building something people can actually use is far more satisfying than simply experimenting with new technology.
🚀 What's Next?
There are plenty of ideas I'd love to explore in future versions:
Live crowd-density visualization
Indoor navigation with real-time positioning
Voice-based conversations
Public transport integration
Personalized recommendations based on ticket location
Live stadium notifications
🚀 Try PitchPilot AI
👉 Live Demo:
https://pitch-pilot-ai-beta.vercel.app/
If you have suggestions or spot something that could be improved, I'd genuinely love to hear your feedback.
Final Thoughts
PitchPilot AI started with a simple question and slowly evolved into one of my favorite projects to build.
It reminded me that creating AI applications isn't just about integrating large language models. It's about designing experiences that remain useful, reliable, and intuitive even when things don't go exactly as planned.
There's still a long list of ideas I'd like to explore, but I'm happy with how far this project has come—and even more excited about where it could go next.
Thanks for reading! ⚽🤖
Built with ❤️ by Srija Bhattacharya for Google for Developers × Hack2Skill – Build with AI | PromptWars Virtual Challenge 4
#BuildWithAI #PromptWars #GoogleGemini #WorldCup2026 #BuildInPublic
If you were attending the FIFA World Cup, what AI feature would make your stadium experience better? ⚽
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