Inspiration
Is there anyone living in a modern city that hasn't experienced the bottomless frustration that comes with having to run back and forth down an aisle looking for the next elusive item on their shopping list?
We have! The solution? Introducing Marketio! Your one stop to cutting your shopping in half*.
*We haven't actually calculated this
What it does
Marketio is a highly-engineered tour guide for your local supermarkets! The app considers a shopping list entered by a user and then uses sophisticated algorithms, a database, and magic to chart an optimal path on the display. The path shows the user how to coast through a store, grabbing all of their shopping list items along the way - no fumbling back and forth; no getting lost. Locations are clickable, and they will reveal the items which will be collected on the adjacent shelf too.
How we built it
The algorithm itself was built in Java, and the GUI was made with the help of JavaFX. The algorithm is a greedy one that considers the general locations of all items as well proximity to user. It then runs these variables through a heuristic determination function which helps in choosing the optimal path to the next item(s).
Challenges we ran into
The actual pathfinding algorithm was the biggest challenge - we had to use a combination of breadth-first-search and a greedy algorithm gaining its heuristic values from a function with adjustable weights for different variables it considers.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Apart from getting the algorithm working, making the backend and frontend come together (kind of) seamlessly was quite the achievement! We struggled a bit making the app look the way it does now and are quite proud of it! Along with solving technical problems, we're immensely proud of everyone effectively working together and looking out for one another during the development of this application!
What we learned
Honestly, all of us have experienced some newfound appreciation for the importance of management and documentation in a project involving a team larger than two people! We saw firsthand the effects of not having everybody on the same page and the setbacks it can bring. We also learned how to effectively write solutions under a restricted timeframe which involved a constant need for communication, highlighting to us how important interpersonal skills are in developing a sophisticated application.
What's next for Marketio
Plenty! The app has potential for near infinite expansion. More supported supermarkets, live GPS tracking for the customer, more shopping list features, more optimal algorithm! Not only can this impact the customer base, but this algorithm can be used from a business operational perspective, as slight modifications in the algorithm implemented can help workers navigate their stores efficiently when they need to stock items, ultimately increasing their workplace efficiency! Thus, this app has the potential to provide both business-driven and customer-driven solutions!
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