NaviGator

Trying to plan a road trip with your friends, but don't want the crocodile tears?

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Inspiration

Planning a road trip/long travel is an arduous process with many important variables in the mix. Finding the best route, lodging, and food, all while maintaining safety, cost-awareness, and a good time is no small task! We wanted to create an app that would solve the common problems that people face when traveling long, long hours on the road. As folks who have struggled through the logistics of road trip planning ourselves, we know there's a need for NaviGator!

What it does

NaviGator is a comprehensive trip planning application designed to simplify long travels by tailoring the journey to users' preferences. With NaviGator, users can effortlessly input their travel destination, start location, and essential preferences, including preferred hotels with specified price ranges, food choices, and desired driving durations. The app then generates personalized hotel recommendations along the route, taking into account the users' preferences and budget constraints. Moreover, NaviGator displays estimated driving durations between locations, factoring in real-time traffic conditions and the users' preferences for driving time per day. By streamlining trip planning, NaviGator not only saves users valuable time but also suggests unique and unexpected experiences they might have never considered before.

How we built it

  • We built backend in Python and Django to support API calls and interact with our map front end which is built in HTML and javascript.
  • Using ArcGIS Python API, ArcGIS Online, and ArcGIS Pro to access Network Analysis tools like Routing, Geocoding, and Service Area
  • Using the Yelp API, we can extract information about geocoded places of interest, and display information like reviews and stars to our users through the web app
  • We made use of service area feature to identify the locations user can reach within a certain time starting from origin (as per user preference). A found the intersection between the route and this service area to figure the farthest point that can be reached. Used this farthest intersecting point as the origin for next iteration.

Challenges we ran into

  • Customizing network analysis tool to work in ArcGIS experience builder.
  • Getting backend server set up and understanding how to make it communicate with our front end.
  • Knowing how to present the nearby points onto the graphic.
  • Getting Django to consistently run was not a given

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • The collaboration and teamwork that we had
  • The logo that was created
  • Delving into ArcGIS Python APIs and documentation for many hours
  • Troubleshooting Django servers
  • Making pretty maps that tell you how long it takes to get where you need to go!
  • Successfully built an app that finds optimal route to a destination, and breaks that journey into connected trips based on user defined duration of how long they want to drive at one time.
  • Built functions that can extract Yelp information based on an inputted lat and long for a business, useful for anything from hotels to restaurants to parks and beyond.

What we learned

  • How to make a logo using Looka
  • ArcGIS mapping API and location services
  • Django
  • Javascript SDK
  • Frontend and backend integration
  • Network analysis tools
  • Experience Builder
  • Presentation Making

What's next for NaviGator

If we had more time, we envision this app offering boundless possibilities, going beyond just road trips to serve any kind of travel or vacation. Our dream includes a sophisticated itinerary feature, empowering seamless collaboration with friends. We'd love to add a robust social media aspect, allowing users to share their current and past trips with their friends and the wider community. Moreover, the ability to post location-specific photos would truly bring the journeys to life for others. For comprehensive convenience, we'd implement an expense tracking feature with diverse budget categories, enabling users to effortlessly compare their planned versus actual expenses. We would also update the UI to match our mockup, giving the app a seamless and user-friendly experience. With more time, the app's potential is limitless!

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