BlindApp

Our whole inspiration came from imagining how hard it must be for visually impaired to get around cities like Toronto. So we wanted to created something that helped that community. The applications gives real time data on where the person is located and the stores/restaurants/buildings around them. They can put their finger on the location and the phone will use text-to-speech to say the location out loud. We started off with a plan that included going over all the different types of API we would need to use. Then we jotted down the main parts of the app that needed to be completed and we got started on the paper design. From the paper design, we came up with a list of priority components that had to be included. Firstly, retrieving data from the Google Maps api for local businesses, following with proximity info and text-to-speech options for the user. Based on proximity sensing needing Google Maps api and places, we first applied the Google Maps api and text-to-speech separately and combined the two around the proximity sensing. Having never used Java before, many of the formatting and logic was difficult to read. In addition to this, the many api options that Java offers made it confusing for us navigate through. We tried our best to get around these problems by using online resources available to us such as tutorials and instructional websites. One of the accomplishments we were proud of from this project was being able to integrate several complex api's into a single app in the short-time period and with the lack of experience that we had. From this experience, we learned the basics of Java, learning how to layout and format our projects. Also from this, we learned how to implement api's into android applications and about the vast amount of possibilities that are offered from Google Cloud Platform. Both of us know the importance of our application and how much it could actually help people. Because of this, instead leaving the project after the hackathon, we plan on improving it furthermore.

Built With

• java