RampAware

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  Screenshot of our main front page prototype showcasing our beautiful campus upon request. Was hosted locally

Every morning I walk past the "wheelchair accessible" ramp by the OSS lot and notice the same thing: it's wet, it's steep, and it's a slip waiting to happen. If I struggle walking up it, I can only imagine what it's like to navigate in a wheelchair. That frustration is what sparked RampAware — because accessible, in name and in practice, are two very different things. What It Does RampAware enhances Google Maps with real-time slope risk ratings and AI-powered guidance, helping wheelchair users identify safer ramps and find smarter, accessibility-focused routes. Each ramp is rated green, yellow, or red based on slope and conditions, so users know what they're getting into before they get there. How We Built It We started by analyzing disability enrollment data at Ramapo College to understand the scale of the problem on campus. From there, we integrated the Google Maps API to access its database of wheelchair-accessible routes, then layered on our own slope analysis to surface the safest options. Gemini powers the in-app assistant, which provides context-aware accessibility guidance after every search. Challenges We Ran Into Getting our API keys configured correctly was a bigger hurdle than expected, and wiring the Google Maps and Gemini integrations together without conflicts took significant debugging time. Accomplishments We're Proud Of Successfully integrating both the Google Maps API and the Gemini API — and shipping a working, publicly accessible web app — is something we're genuinely proud of, especially within the time constraints of a hackathon. What We Learned Beyond the technical side of API integration, we learned a lot about collaborating as a team on a project with real moving parts: dividing work, resolving conflicts, and keeping momentum going when things broke. What's Next for RampAware We want to bring in 3D ramp modeling so users can visualize incline before approaching. We're also planning a community rating system that combines AI slope analysis with first-hand user reviews — because no algorithm captures lived experience better than the people navigating these routes every day.

Built With

• claude
• css
• html5
• javascript
• node.js
• vscode