AntEvents

AntEvents helps UCI students view campus events all in one place. Instead of searching emails or social media, students can see what’s happening on an interactive map and get directions instantly.

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Inspiration

As UCI freshmen, we struggled to keep track of all the different events that were happening on campus. Information was scattered across emails, Instagram posts, Discord servers, and flyers. We wanted a single, centralized platform where students could quickly discover what’s happening on campus without digging through multiple sources.

What it does

AntEvents aggregates campus events into one easy-to-use map interface. Students can browse upcoming events, view details, and instantly see how far each event is from their dorm. With built-in routing, users can generate a walking path from their dorm to any event, making it easier to explore campus and get involved.

How we built it

We built AntEvents using React for the frontend and Firebase for authentication, database storage, and cloud functions. We integrated React-Leaflet for the interactive map and implemented route generation using the Google Routes API. Event and user data are stored with Firebase, allowing real-time updates and personalized routing based on each student’s dorm location.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was managing asynchronous data from Firebase, especially handling authentication state and fetching user-specific dorm coordinates. We also faced difficulties integrating routing APIs with the map while keeping performance smooth and ensuring markers and routes updated correctly.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

As a two person team, we’re proud of successfully building a fully functional map interface with real-time database integration in less than 36 hours.

What we learned

We gained hands-on experience with Firebase authentication, Firestore queries, asynchronous React state management, and third-party API integration.

What's next for AntEvents

Next, we plan to automate event aggregation from campus organizations by implementing webscraping and adding filters that will allow users to narrow down their search for relevant events. We hope to implement bookmarking as well to allow a student to save events they find interesting, along with other features that will personalize the user experience.

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