Tech Theorist- "Ready, Set, Route!"

Inspiration

Our Inspiration came from us remembering the experiences we had with riding school buses and how ineffective the process/experience can be most of the time. Gas is constantly being wasted, causing pollution and the spending of more money that could be put to better use. When a student isn't going to be present, the bus driver doesn't know this and spends a substantial amount of time and gas to obtain the student for no reason. Also, bus drivers have to remember the names, faces, and addresses/routes on a day-to-day basis. We know that the app would make things a whole lot easier for the bus driver, especially at the beginning of the year. In addition, it has to be a headache for the school admins to keep track of all of the different bus routes, bus drivers, and student endeavors.

What it does

"Ready, Set, Route!" serves as an attendance tool for the students to let the bus driver know if they're riding the bus for that particular day in the morning and/or afternoon. Therefore, the bus driver knows exactly who to pick up/take home. This app takes it a step further and not only tells the bus driver what students will be in attendance, but it also plans the most suitable route for them. Using a tool called "Map Router" (shown in the bus driver portion of the app) all of the address will be stored in a database. The student’s. that will be attending the bus for a particular day, addresses will be simultaneously entered into that day's route and compute the best route to take. It works just like google map, but instead of providing the best route, estimated time, and the rest of the features for just one address it will do it for an unlimited amount. The starting location (the school they work for) and the end location will be where the buses are put when the day is over. "Map Route" will take those two positions and create a route within it for the student's addresses. The students will be able to see the exact bus location and estimated time of arrival to their house in order to improve preparation of the student. In addition to the student and bus driver portion, the school admins will get a piece of the action by being able to access all of the student's and bus driver's information, including routes, names, and attendance factor. Also, they will be able to communicate with any of the bus drivers and students. In the county administration case, they will also be able to communicate with all of the school’s (in their county) administration.

How I built it

We built the app by using an app creating platform called "Thunkable." Although we didn't make it fully functional, we displayed a sort of base for how the app would look and function. If we move to the next round, we 100% plan to make the app fully functional.

Challenges I ran into

During the pandemic, it has been a challenge to meet with the group, complete academic endeavors, and pursue other situations. However, everyone in the group was passionate about this app and put so much effort into creating it.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

The accomplishments that we are proud of was being able to work with each other effectively and have the chance to compete in the competition!

What I learned

We learned a lot about each other's different perspectives, coding techniques, and the school transportation system.

What's next for Ready Set Route

We really do appreciate being able to participate in this app. We know the opportunities it can provide for people like us, giving us a chance to make a positive difference in our communities. Through the exposure and connections we hope to get from participating in this competition, we fully intend to make this app usable for schools all over the world, especially North Carolina. We truly believe that it would be extremely beneficial, as stated, reducing pollution, time, frustration, and ineffectiveness for schools. In addition, we want to make this app fully functional and appealing with much more features. For example, when bus drivers arrive at school in the morning, instead of someone standing outside with a clipboard checking off the buses, the bus driver will press a simple button and make school officials aware that the bus has dropped off the students.

Built With

• thunkable