HushMap

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  HushMap Icon

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  Find quiet, comfortable places for work study and relaxation

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  Discover sensory-friendly venues with real-time data and smart filters

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  Search nearby locations with detailed comfort ratings and reviews

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  Add sensory reports to help build an accessible community database

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  Earn points and badges while learning your personal comfort preferences

HushMap - Google Maps Platform Awards Project Story

🌱 Inspiration

As a parent and digital health innovator, I saw firsthand how overwhelming noisy, crowded, and brightly lit public places can be for people with sensory sensitivities — especially those with autism. While many apps map accessibility for mobility, few consider sensory needs. I built HushMap to help neurodiverse individuals and caregivers make more confident decisions about where to go, when, and why.

🧭 What it does

HushMap is an iOS app that helps users find and report sensory-friendly places based on noise, crowdedness, and lighting. It uses Google Places data, AI-powered predictions, and real-time community reports to guide users to spaces that match their sensory needs.

Think of it as a quiet-friendly companion to Google Maps.

🛠 How we built it

• Frontend: SwiftUI, SwiftData, and MapKit for a fast, accessible iOS experience
• Google Maps Platform: Places API for place autocomplete and details
• AI: Custom sensory risk predictor that factors in time-of-day, crowd trends, venue type, and weather
• User feedback: Community-submitted sensory reports and comments stored locally and synced to Firebase
• Gamification: Users earn badges and Quiet Explorer Points for contributing helpful data

⚠️ Challenges we ran into

• Configuring Google Places API and debugging restrictions during development
• Designing a sensory scoring model that felt simple but informative
• Balancing user-generated content with AI predictions and real-time API data
• Making the interface fully accessible for screen reader users and neurodivergent testers

🏆 Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Created a functional MVP that's already being tested by caregivers and support groups
• Successfully integrated Google Places search into a real-time map experience
• Developed a modular system for scoring, filtering, and pin clustering
• Built a unique sensory prediction engine based on Google context + user feedback

📚 What we learned

• Neurodiverse-first design requires empathy, not assumptions
• Google Maps APIs are incredibly powerful — once they're properly set up
• Real-time context + community data = meaningful accessibility
• Simplicity and clarity are the hardest and most important design goals

🚀 What's next for HushMap

• Integrate Google Popular Times and real-time weather trends into the prediction model
• Expand to Android and create a web-based companion tool
• Partner with autism charities and accessibility networks to roll out community trials
• Add user verification and a reputation layer for crowdsourced data
• Explore B Corp certification to align with digital health ethics and accessibility goals

Built With

• firebase
• google-places
• mapkit
• openai
• swiftui
• with-google-places-api-for-location-intelligence-and-mapkit-for-interactive-maps.-data-is-stored-using-swiftdata-and-geolocation-powered-by-corelocation.-we-use-firebase-for-analytics-and-testing
• xcode