level18warriors(046)

jio_jio_bot
Bot - Successful Order

Inspiration

During covid-19, we observed a surge in demand for food delivery services and in particular, ordering food as a group. However, group orders are usually a hassle as users have to copy and paste the long list of previous orders to add on or edit their items. Hence, we decided to design a bot to streamline the process.

We also obtained inspiration from other telegram bots such as the count_me_in_bot which makes polling much easier.

What it does

Jio Jio Bot allows friends in a telegram group chat to create a group food delivery order list. It also allows the user to track who has paid for their bill.

How we built it

We used Python and Redis. We have also deployed it using Heroku and its Redis add-on.

Challenges we ran into

It was difficult to deploy the bot and the Redis server simultaneously and to keep the connection open between the two Heroku instances.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The project is successfully deployed! It is the first time we built a telegram bot, and we managed to use Redis as the database. We have also done some basic user testing.

What we learned

We learnt to work together in a team efficiently by capitalising on each others' strengths, eg. Sherry is skilled in Heroku, Ziqing is experienced in Redis while Ai Ling is strong in Python

We also learnt how to manage our expectations on the scale of the project since we only had 24 hours for the hackathon.

Through LifeHack 2021, we learn to appreciate how technology could empower people to bring more convenience to society and our own community. Technology is the essential force that bonds everyone together especially during covid times.

What's next for level18warriors(046)

Add commands to view current order
Ability to include a deadline for the jio, so the order will automatically close after the deadline
Fetching menu from restaurants so that the user does not need to type in manually
Automatically pin the message for easier tracking