Inspiration
I was diagnosed with epilepsy, or chronic seizures, at a very young age. Ever since I can remember I've struggled with keeping track of these seizures and even worse, keeping track of the medication which keeps me from having them in the first place.
Project Lariat is for anyone who suffers from a condition or addiction which involves 'episodes' or relapse. This can include anything from self-harm to alcohol abuse, and from asthma to epilepsy.
What it does
Project Lariat collects however much information the user can give. At a minimum, it requires a name and a condition to track. With this information, the app will--as its primary function--check up on the user routinely asking questions such as: "Have you taken your medicine today, Razz?" or "Did you have a seizure today, Razz?"
The user will be able to set times for these check-ins and reminders. They will also be able to view their previous answers and the corresponding dates--something that will help doctors and therapists in adjusting treatment plans.
How I built it
Lariat was built in a mix of Java and the drag-and-drop interface of Android Studio v.2.2 (for Ice Cream Sandwich and up) and tested using a combination of a custom Android emulator and an HTC Desire 626 running Lollipop.
Challenges I ran into
Despite being my mobile OS of choice for almost four years, I did not have an easy time learning it within the time constraints of YHack 2016. I admit I spent more time on tutorials than on the actual development of Project Lariat, which hit a major roadblock that influenced me to halt development, as far as YHack was concerned. Programming in Java alone is so fundamentally different from programming for Android that it's very difficult, if not impossible, to learn the latter in less than two days' time.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I jumped headfirst into the deep end! Usually, I stay within my comfort zone as far as development goes, but this time I chose to pursue using different development tools that I had no prior experience with.
I also believe in my project, as it will help many people beyond myself--from recovering addicts to the medically unfortunate, like myself.
What I learned
Come prepared and tolerate few to no distractions during future hackathons. I might also benefit from investigating a new tool prior to the competition, so that I don't end up with 30 hours of tutorials to comb through before I do any hacking.
What's next for Project Lariat
I will be putting it on hold until I have a much stronger grasp on Android development. This is a project with much potential and important real-world applications--I hope to see it become a staple free app among members of its target audience.
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