QuixTown

DISCLAIMER: We are a two person group, doing two different projects. We may have bit off more than we can chew. However, pressure makes diamonds.

Inspiration

We were inspired by eachother, because throughout our coding journies, we have been opposites. I (Alex), have always preferred to be a backend developer, while Zac loves frontend. Even though we were working on seperate projects, a big goal in the back of our minds was to expand our skills in the fields that we were lacking in to be a full-stack developer.

What it does

Alex - My app SmartKingston is an all-in-one community app for Kingston. It has features such as a blog wall, where users can post about their day, or what is going on in the city at that time. There is also a way for users to post their events, could be a party, a garage sale, or the launch of their business. It is a great way for the city of Kingston to feel more connected. However, most importantly, and my favourite feature is the "How Do I Dispose of This?" feature. With the click of a button and the flash of a camera, the user can take a photo of an item they're not sure how to dispose of, and through the use of Gemini, the app will tell you whether it is a recycling item, compost, garbage, and most importantly, whether it goes in a blue or green bin.

Zac - QuixBids is a bidding market platform that uses AI to make smarter decisions and improve the user experience. It’s built with a focus on security, so people can trust their data is safe. The design is super intuitive and modern, making it easy for anyone to use.

How we built it

Alex - Expo, React-Native(TypeScript)

Zac - NextJS, HTML, CSS, TypeScript

Challenges we ran into

Our biggest challenge was the fact that we had the bright idea to do two seperate projects, however through all of the obstacles that doing a solo project brought on us, the biggest challenge was sleep. Now writing this at the end of the challenge, we totaled about 1 hour of sleep between the both of us, for a 3 day event. This was the first hackathon for both of us, so you live and you learn.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are both super proud of every line of code in the 2 projects. We put a lot of effort into these, more than we have ever put in for anything we've ever done, so we hope you enjoy our submissions. Staying up for 36 hours straight (minus ~30min each), is a mentally and physically draining task in of itself, but coding for the entire time with minimal breaks except for food, washrooms and the occasional event, was a true test to our mental strength.

What we learned

We both learned a lot, a lot of back-end knowledge for Zac, and a lot of front-end knowledge for Alex. While we may not have been working on the same project at the same time, the teamwork we put in is an invaluable skill that we will continue to improve on for the rest of our lives.

What's next for Quixtown

Hopefully returning next year, albeit, with one project for both of us and 1000% planning for at least 6 hours of sleep for the event, that was unbearable.

We thank you for hosting this event, as it was a blast. We learned a lot about ourself, eachother and have learned more coding practices and skills in three days than we have learned in semesters of school!