Hoo's Open

Inspiration

Many students face challenges when trying to find up-to-date information about building operation hours, often needing to visit multiple websites. With the fast pace of student life, a streamlined solution was needed to quickly check which buildings or facilities are open, eliminating the frustration of hunting for hours of operation. Hoos Open was created to centralize and simplify this process, offering a single platform where students can easily see which spaces are available.

What it does

Hoos Open compiles a list of building hours, displaying which facilities are currently open or closed based on real-time data. By showing this information in an easy-to-use interface, it allows students to efficiently find study spaces, recreation centers, or other campus facilities that match their needs. The app integrates dynamic features, automatically updating facility statuses depending on the current time and day, ensuring accuracy and ease of use.

How we built it

We built Hoos Open using HTML for structure, Tailwind CSS for modern, responsive styling, and JavaScript for dynamic functionality. Tailwind CSS provided quick, customizable styles while JavaScript powered the logic behind updating facility statuses in real-time. The app extracts operational data from official UVA websites, ensuring that the building information reflects real hours of operation. We also decided to go beyond static times through collecting real, daily data from the actual UVA websites. We developed a system using python to scrape individual websites and compile them all into formatted databases for easier access to data. This system ensures that even after our project is complete, it will still remain accurate to future dates and times.

Challenges we ran into

Some of the biggest challenges involved meeting the time constraints while implementing all desired features. Gathering accurate data and syncing it with real-time conditions also required careful handling. We had to create smooth, user-friendly interactions while keeping the site responsive and efficient across devices.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are particularly proud of successfully integrating data extraction from official UVA websites, which allows the app to dynamically update building status based on the current date and time. This real-time feature adds substantial value to users, offering them timely, relevant information with minimal effort on their part. Additionally, we’ve created a clean, user-friendly interface that’s both functional and visually appealing.

What we learned

Throughout this project, we deepened our skills in data extraction, dynamic website building, and UI/UX design. We learned how to build a platform that not only looks good but also provides meaningful, real-time functionality. We also gained valuable experience with Tailwind CSS and integrating third-party data sources into a seamless user experience.

What's next for Hoos Open

In the future, we aim to expand Hoos Open by adding more buildings and spaces that students frequently use. We’re also considering adding new features like custom notifications for specific buildings and potential integrations with campus events or booking systems, further enhancing the student experience.

Built With

• html
• javascript
• json
• python
• tailwind
• web-scraping