Check Capacity

save USC students time by giving them instantaneously data about the lines and availability of school services

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Inspiration

Going to a big school, it is common to wait in long lines, but we wondered if we could change that. There is nothing worse than waiting thirty minutes for food when you are very hungry after a long school day. We were inspired by a desire to save busy college a few minutes of their already limited time.

What it does

Our mobile applications works to provide a one-stop location for USC students to check on wait times at both dining halls and library study rooms by providing real-time data on the number of people located in those areas. In addition to that, it provides an easy way to look at the dining hall menus through their phones.

How I built it

We used Geofences to track user location, sent that information to our Firebase server, and updated projections using a combination of the real-data data for current number of users and Logistic method calculations (usually used to track city population). We used Android Studio to design and bring all elements of the application together.

Challenges I ran into

We ran into challenges regarding integrating the different components, such as the Geofences and Firebase, with our front-end components. Everything worked individually, but the combination, even when slowly adding in certain elements, proved difficult to debug given the time constraints.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Our greatest accomplishment was the look and feel of the application. We believe that it provides an easy and aesthetically pleasing way to view all the information regarding wait times for the most important resources on the USC campus, food and study rooms. Aside from the application itself, our team worked well together to create our current product.

What I learned

We learned the importance of coming together to integrate the different parts earlier on. We also learned to ask for help after a set amount of time. Lastly, we learned technical in the basics of Android development and how to work well as a team.

What's next for Check Capacity

Going forward, we would like to add new features for Laundry room wait times and events on campus for students. We would also focus on improving and the integration of the Firebase and Geofences to give more accurate data.

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