myCarbon

Home screen
Carbon emission accumulator shows how much carbon (in lb) was used each day. List of categories allows users to input their information.
If "Food" was selected on the previous screen, this screen allows the user to input how much and what kinds of food they consumed that day.
If "Transportation" was selected on the previous screen, this screen allows the user to input their daily transportation information.
After inputting all data, the user can see their carbon footprint score (our own formula) along with suggestions on how to improve.

Inspiration

As climate change continues to worsen, we recognize the need to help others become more aware of their impact on the environment.

What it does

Our mobile application allows users to track their carbon footprint using a daily scoring metric. By inputting daily energy usage across multiple categories, users can see approximately how much carbon they produce. The app then suggests actionable steps to reduce their carbon footprint based on their energy usage.

How we built it

We used the Swift programming language in the Xcode platform to develop the application and its logic. We used Adobe Illustrator to design the visuals for the app.

Challenges we ran into

None of us had ever developed a full app in Xcode nor coded in the Swift programming language. Additionally, some of our team members do not have Macs and thus could not help with Xcode. In terms of workflow, using Git became a challenge once we tried to merge several branches with our master branch, but we were able to overcome this over time.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Given that we've never coded in Swift nor created a mobile app, we're very proud of the functionality of our project. In terms of our process, we're extremely happy with how we managed the last 24 hours—we worked efficiently while still learning a lot about mobile development.

What we learned

We gained proficiency in Swift and Xcode while sharpening our design skills using Adobe Illustrator. We also improved our ability to work as a virtual team, something that will become increasingly important in a digitized world.

What's next for myCarbon

Our hope is to continue development for our application and begin beta testing. Specifically, we would like to implement a social component to our app whereby users could share their environmental impact with friends and work to improve their carbon footprints together.