Campus Food Truck

Inspiration

Food trucks are a great way for students to enjoy affordable and diverse meals on campus, but they often struggle with visibility due to constantly changing locations. Inspired by the frustration of trying to find our favorite food trucks, we wanted to create a solution that helps both students and food truck owners. By providing a platform for real-time location updates, we aim to bridge the gap between hungry students and mobile vendors.

What it does

Our iOS app allows food truck owners to update their live location, making it easy for students to find them on an interactive map. Users can search for nearby food trucks, view their menus, and get notified when their favorite trucks are close by. This improves visibility for food truck owners while enhancing convenience for students.

How we built it

We developed the app using Swift and SwiftUI for the front end, integrating MapKit for real-time location tracking. Firebase was used for backend services, including authentication and database storage. We also implemented push notifications to alert users when a food truck updates its location. The project followed an agile development process, with iterative testing and feedback loops to refine the user experience.

Challenges we ran into

Implementing real-time location updates while optimizing battery consumption.
Ensuring a smooth and responsive user interface with frequent data updates.
Designing an intuitive experience that balances functionality and ease of use.
Coordinating with food truck owners to gather their input and encourage adoption.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully integrating live location tracking and real-time updates.
Building a clean and user-friendly interface that makes food truck discovery seamless.
Implementing push notifications to keep students updated on their favorite trucks.
Creating a solution that benefits both food truck owners and students alike.

What we learned

The importance of user feedback in refining app features and usability.
Best practices for handling real-time location data and optimizing performance.
How to balance technical challenges with user needs to build a practical solution.
The significance of effective communication and collaboration in a development team.

What's next for Campus Food Truck

We plan to expand the app’s features by adding user reviews, pre-ordering capabilities, and AI-based recommendations based on past preferences. We also aim to partner with more food truck vendors and explore cross-platform development to make the app available on Android.