Inspiration
During every single trip for computer science club, we've managed to lose somebody. This app makes sure that we never lose another pesky individual.
What it does
The app tracks the location of its users, and if the user is a certain distance away from the rest of the users, it notifies the entire group of the missing user.
How we built it
We used Android Studio, sacrificed a few goats, summoned a few infernal demons, and ate pizza (My graphic designer requests I mention Adobe Illustrator here on threat of death).
Challenges we ran into
The usage of GPS inside a building. This app was made for outdoor usage. Developing this app inside a building was quite...challenging. Also, the recent-ish merge of Firebase with Google Cloud Messenger made quite a few API's documentations obsolete.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Creating an Android app with an average of 0.5 years of experience amongst ourselves.
What we learned
We learned that the limitations brought by existing APIs need to be demolished, and rebuilt with future applications in mind. Furthermore, we realized that the UI/UX of an app is almost as important as the functionality of an app (again, my Graphic Designer...).
What's next for Leash
Adding in better push notification support. Google Cloud Computer Engine requires a credit card. None of our parents responded favorably to our incessant pleas for credit cards. Additionally, we wanted to create an iOS version, but the in-building development environment interfered with an old iPhone 5C's signal too much. Finally, we attempted to integrate a chat API, but the merge of Firebase with GCM made both old and new documentation incorrect documentation. In the future, we'd love to integrate some sort of Bluetooth functionality into the app, or use a Raspberry Pi as a center module so all communication can be done locally, thus conserving battery life even more and preventing any insanely high data costs.
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