About FairTrade AI
An academic research initiative at RV College of Engineering (RVCE), Bengaluru, dedicated to consumer price protection through digital audit forensics.
Institutional Context
FairTrade AI is built within the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at RV College of Engineering (RVCE), Bengaluru. Developed as a solo project by Nehal Baid under the guidance of Dr. Anitha Sandeep (Associate Professor, CSE Dept, RVCE), this forensic system is designed to track undisclosed grocery contractions.
By publishing verified product size timelines and alternative indices, the tool supports consumer awareness and economic transparency in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market.
Research Gaps Addressed
Our research paper identified three fundamental gaps in current inflation literature:
- Automation Deficit: Prior research analyzed shrinkflation manually. FairTrade AI provides the first automated temporal scraper linking Web Archives to current e-commerce listings.
- Layout Evolution: Classic scrapers break when web layouts shift. Our Gemini NLP adaptive fallback parsing resolves metadata extraction across structural code revisions.
- Lack of Prescriptive Action: Economic reports define the issue but omit solutions. We integrate KNN classifications to recommend better-value alternatives.
SDG Alignment
This project aligns directly with United Nations SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. By providing transparency on pack size variations, we empower consumers to make value-honest choices, discouraging deceptive marketing loops.
Project Registry Info
- College / Institution:RV College of Engineering (RVCE), Bengaluru
- Department:Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)
- Project Developer:Nehal Baid (USN: 1RV24CS900)
- Project Guide:Dr. Anitha Sandeep (Associate Professor, CSE Dept)
- Source Code:github.com/fairtrade-ai
Acknowledgements
This project relies on data and software contributions from the Wayback Machine Internet Archive, Google Gemini LLM API, RV College of Engineering CSE labs, and open-source packages including Next.js, SQLite, and Recharts.
Project Developer & Guidance
Nehal Baid
Student at RV College of Engineering (RVCE), Computer Science and Engineering (CSE). Developed the complete end-to-end Wayback machine CDX scraping pipelines, database mappings, and Next.js digital auditing interface.
Dr. Anitha Sandeep
Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, RV College of Engineering (RVCE). Supervised the software guidelines, forensic data validation metrics, and research directions.