This is a submission for Weekend Challenge: Earth Day Edition (April 22)
What I Built
I built the Deep-Time Mirror, an immersive, AI-powered "temporal lens" that allows users to witness the environmental evolution of any location on Earth.
The goal was to move beyond cold, flat data and create an emotional connection with the land. The Mirror takes you through three distinct epochs:
- The Deep Past (~10,000 BCE): A cinematic look at the primeval ecosystem before modern intervention.
- The Present (The Anthropocene): A gritty, real-time look at current urban and climate impacts, including a "Recent Pulse" with local environmental events from the last 7 days.
- The Restored Future (~2100 CE): A hopeful, Solar-punk vision where humanity has successfully restored biodiversity and integrated technology with nature.
Demo
Experience the Mirror live here:
Code
The full source code and documentation can be found here:
sushanshetty2601-pixel
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deep-time-mirror
🌍 An AI-powered 3D cinematic portal into Earth's ecological evolution. Visualize the primeval past, the modern Anthropocene, and a solar-punk future for any location. Built with Gemini AI, React, and Three.js for the Earth Day 2026 Challenge.
🌍 Deep-Time Mirror
Piercing the veil of time for Earth Day 2026.
Deep-Time Mirror is an immersive, AI-powered ecological portal that visualizes the environmental history and restored future of any location on Earth. Built for the Earth Day Challenge, it combines high-performance 3D graphics with real-time generative storytelling to bridge the gap between our primeval past and a sustainable solar-punk tomorrow.
⚡ The Experience
- The Portal: Enter any city, forest, or park.
- Temporal Synthesis: The AI stabilization engine kicks in, generating a cinematic, full-screen 3D visual of your location.
- Deep Past (~10,000 BCE): Witness the land in its untouched, primeval glory. Meet ancient species and see the world before the Anthropocene.
- The Present: A gritty, realistic look at current ecological challenges, complete with a "Recent Pulse" that grabs local environmental data from 1 day and 1 week ago.
- Restored Future (~2100 CE): A solar-punk vision of restoration. Witness how architecture…
How I Built It
My technical approach focused on Temporal Synthesis—using AI to ground creative visuals in scientific fact.
Google Gemini 1.5 Flash: I used Gemini to act as a "Temporal Oracle." It performs real-time searches to gather ecological data about the user's location, then generates structured JSON data for the narratives and climate statistics.
3D Cinematic Visuals: I utilized a generative visual pipeline that creates a full-screen, immersive background for every location. This "Art-First" approach ensures that users see the impact of climate change before they read about it.
React 19 & Three.js: The core interface uses React 19 for high-speed state management and Three.js (via React-Three-Fiber) to create the "Temporal Sphere" at the heart of the experience.
Design Philosophy: I used a high-end editorial/luxury aesthetic with Tailwind CSS v4, utilizing Glassmorphism and specialized scanline filters to give the app a "Retro-Futuristic Science" feel.
Prize Categories
Best Use of Google Gemini
Deep-Time Mirror uses Gemini not just for text, but for:
- Grounded Real-Time Search: To find specific local environmental events from 1 day and 1 week ago.
- Complex Reasoning: To extrapolate a "Restored Future" based on current geographical constraints.
- Visual Prompt Engineering: To drive the cinematic backgrounds that change based on the era.
🍃 A Message for Earth Day 2026(April 22)
Earth Day is a reminder that we are not just residents of this planet; we are its custodians.
The Facts We Face:
Carbon Consciousness: CO2 levels are currently at their highest in over 4 million years. Our "Deep Past" view reminds us of the baseline we are trying to return to.
Restoration is Possible: Scientists estimate that restoring just 15% of converted lands in priority areas could avoid 60% of expected extinctions. My "Future" view is a digital blueprint of this possibility.
Every Day Matters: The "Recent Pulse" in the app monitors changes from just 24 hours ago. Climate action isn't a long-term goal; it's a daily rhythm.
Built with 💚 for the planet by: Sushan Shetty (sushanshetty2601-pixel)
Thank you 😇
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