Astra is an intuitive mobile application designed to support emotional well-being and daily life needs, especially for individuals with neuropsychological differences or difficulties. This project was developed as our Final Year Computing Technical Degree Project by me and my classmates.
We built Astra to help people better understand and manage emotions, feel more connected to themselves and the world around them, and reduce the stigma associated with mental health by encouraging comprehension, empathy, and acceptance.
Astra is more than a productivity or mindfulness tool — it’s a companion for emotional care. It offers helpful and practical resources for daily life, including:
- Reminders — stay on top of routines
- Guided Meditations — for calm and focus
- Mood Tracker — log how you feel over time
- Emotional & Self-Care Diary — write and reflect
- Virtual Pet Companion — a customizable emotional buddy
- The pet mirrors the user’s mood
- Motivates users to care for themselves like they would care for their pet
Our UX focus was to make Astra easy to use, accessible, and friendly, especially for people who may struggle with traditional mental health tools.
JavaScriptTypeScriptTailwind CSSFirebaseProgressive Web Application (PWA)
Well-Being Tools
- Guided meditation
- Mood tracking & Insights
- Emotional diary with reflection prompts
- Customizable reminders
Virtual Pet Companion
- Reflects your emotional state
- Changes with your mood
- Encourages consistent self-care
- Customizable appearance
- Empower people to manage emotions
- Reduce stigma around mental health
- Promote empathy, self-awareness, and compassion
- Use technology to support well-being in a meaningful, human-centered way
During this project, we developed not only technical skills, but also a deeper understanding of how technology can be used responsibly and empathetically. Building Astra pushed us to think beyond functionality and focus on people, emotions, and accessibility.
I learned how to design emotionally safe and accessible interfaces by focusing on simplicity, clear communication, and reduced cognitive overload, especially for users with neuropsychological differences.
I learned how to transform a traditional web application into a Progressive Web App, making it installable and usable offline, while understanding how service workers and web app manifests contribute to performance, accessibility, and a mobile-first experience.
I learned how to translate abstract emotional states into visual and interactive feedback through the virtual pet, using gentle gamification to motivate self-care without creating pressure, guilt, or judgment.
I learned the importance of handling emotional data with care, prioritizing user privacy and trust, and understanding how design decisions can directly impact how safe users feel when expressing their emotions.
I learned how to structure features in a way that allows the application to grow gradually while remaining intuitive, constantly evaluating whether each feature added real value or unnecessary complexity.
I learned how to collaborate effectively in a group project by communicating ideas clearly, dividing responsibilities, and using version control tools to work together efficiently.
This project taught us that building software is not just about writing code — it’s about understanding people, making thoughtful decisions, and creating tools that genuinely support users. Astra was an opportunity to combine technical knowledge, research, empathy, and creativity into a meaningful product.
Here are ideas we hope to build next:
- Smart reminders powered by user behavior
- Mood trend analytics
- Social sharing & support groups
Thank you to:
- Our instructors and mentors
- Classmates and testers
- Users who offered feedback
- The open-source community