Inspiration
In the current operation of the UH IT building, personnel need to create an appointment for their visitors, which is stored and cross-referenced on a Google Excel spreadsheet. This makes it difficult for the reception to keep track of who comes in and leaves. Furthermore, the current RFID system makes it difficult to identify who belongs in the building and who is trespassing. Therefore, to prevent people from gaming the system, we created GameTheSystem.
What it does
The GamingTheSystem web application allows IT personnel to create an appointment for visitors. In doing so, the visitors can create a magic link, which will be sent to their email. From there, user's can click on the link sent to their emails, redirecting them to the GamingTheSystem web application. There, they can access a QR code that will allow them access into the IT building. Visitors can also view all the appointments they have on the website.
The front-desk can use the web application to view appointments made for the day, who checked-in, and who checked-out. They can also use the web application to scan the QR code of visitors.
How We Built It
We constructed the web application using Nodejs and React as the framework. With antd components, we designed the website with the idea of maintainability and simplicity. All of the software used in this project are open-source and well-managed by the developer community.
For the backend, our server was constructed using Laravel, a PHP framework. Using it, we generate endpoints to query the MySQL database in AWS.
Challenges We Ran Into
We ran into challenges working with AWS and scanning the QR code. Working with these technologies for the first time, we were unfamiliar with many of the functionalities
Accomplishments We're Proud Of
We're proud to have set up a database on AWS and implementing the QR code scanning functionality. We are also proud of being able to send a magic link to users where they receive a unique token to view their appointments and their QR code.
What We Learned
We learned the general structure of an application, from the front-end to the middleware to the back-end operations. More importantly, we learned how to work as a team, communicating progress and integrating all the elements of the project together in a coherent manner.
What's Next
We will continue working on the web application to flesh out the functionalities. We also want to implement a pinging system that will allow personnel to check and see if an individual belongs in an area, enhancing the security of the building.
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