Goose Trails

Lost in a building? Can't find your class? Follow the goose trails.

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Inspiration

Getting lost inside large buildings is a common and frustrating experience, especially when you're short on time. We noticed that while GPS works well outdoors, it completely fails indoors. This gap inspired us to make indoor navigation just as seamless as outdoor navigation.

What it does

Goose Trails is an indoor navigation system that helps users find the fastest path from one location to another inside a building. By scanning their surroundings, users can instantly determine their location and receive step-by-step directions to their destination.

  • Real-time route generation
  • Graph-based indoor navigation
  • AR-assisted guidance (planned/partial)
  • Accessibility-aware routing

How we built it

We built Goose Trails using a combination of mobile development, graph theory, and computer vision concepts:

  • Frontend: React Native with Expo
  • Development Tools: VSCode, GitHub
  • Navigation Engine: Graph-based system using nodes and edges
  • Routing Logic: Shortest path algorithm

Challenges we ran into

  • Indoor location detection: Without GPS, determining the user’s position required alternative approaches like visual recognition
  • Mapping buildings: Converting real-world layouts into a clean node-edge graph was complex
  • Multi-floor routing: Handling stairs and elevators added complexity to pathfinding
  • Time constraints: Building a functional MVP within a short timeframe required prioritization and quick iteration

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Successfully built a working indoor navigation prototype
  • Designed a scalable graph-based routing system
  • Integrated pathfinding into a mobile app
  • Created a solution that addresses a real, everyday problem

What we learned

  • How to apply graph theory and pathfinding algorithms to real-world problems
  • How to build and iterate quickly under time pressure
  • The importance of user experience in navigation systems
  • How different technologies (mobile, AI, data structures) can work together

What's next for Goose Trails

  • Expand AR navigation for fully immersive guidance
  • Improve computer vision for more accurate location detection
  • Scale to support multiple buildings and campuses
  • Add voice-guided navigation and enhanced accessibility features
  • Optimize routing for real-time updates and dynamic conditions
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