Aptly: Making Mobile Apps from Natural Language
This work addresses the problem of democratizing mobile app development for young learners, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing tools like App Inventor.
The paper tackles the problem of making mobile app development more accessible by introducing Aptly, a platform that uses a Large Language Model to translate natural language descriptions into App Inventor visual blocks, with a preliminary study showing usability among high school students.
This paper introduces Aptly, a platform designed to democratize mobile app development, particularly for young learners. Aptly integrates a Large Language Model (LLM) with App Inventor, enabling users to create apps using their natural language. User's description is translated into a programming language that corresponds with App Inventor's visual blocks. A preliminary study with high school students demonstrated the usability and potential of the platform. Prior programming experience influenced how users interact with Aptly. Participants identified areas for improvement and expressed a shift in perspective regarding programming accessibility and AI's role in creative endeavors.