Bulldog Parking

🚗 Find parking before you even arrive.Our Smart Parking Assistant uses real-time class schedule data to recommend the best available campus parking lots saving students time, stress, and gas.

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🚗 Inspiration

At Fresno State, parking is a constant struggle. Whether it's students venting between classes, topics in ASI campaigns, or administration Q&As parking is always brought up. Despite years of discussion, solutions like new parking garages remain far off or stuck in planning.

In the meantime, we wanted to build something lightweight but impactful: a smart parking assistant that helps students find the best parking lot before they even get to campus. No more circling aimlessly or being late to class.

💡 What We Built

Our project connects real class schedule data with parking lot information to estimate how full each lot might be at a given time. Based on the number of students in nearby buildings and lot capacity, we suggest the most efficient lot. If that lot is full, we redirect users to the next closest available one.

The frontend features a clean UI with buttons like "Find Parking Now" and an interactive map. The backend handles scheduling logic and database lookups using Supabase.

🔧 How We Built It

  • Frontend: Built using React + Vite, styled with TailwindCSS
  • Backend: Node.js (Express) API handles logic and returns lot suggestions
  • Database: Supabase stores class schedules, buildings, and parking lot metadata
  • APIs: Google Maps for real-time navigation and visualization

📚 What We Learned

  • How to connect a live Supabase DB to a full-stack app
  • Real-world application of geolocation + proximity logic
  • Collaborating fast under hackathon pressure
  • How to handle async logic and database querying with live updates

🚧 Challenges We Faced

  • Managing Supabase permissions and table structure for real-time updates
  • Designing fallback behavior for full lots without hardcoding routes
  • Resolving React hook errors and syncing backend/frontend efficiently
  • Running frontend locally while debugging the backend on another port

✅ Outcome

We built an MVP that actually works, and students can already see value in it. With more time, we’d add user logins, live campus data, and maybe partner with Fresno State to make it official.

Smart parking. Less circling. More class time.

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