Restroom Reports

Every one uses the bathroom right? So we created “Restroom Reviews” to provide an interactive environment for users to read and share reviews of the various bathrooms at UGA with an interactive map.

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Inspiration

The UGA App has functionality to help students know what's around campus, but they don't track the best bathroom spots for students on campus. Students are on campus for long hours of the day and will need to use the bathroom at some point, but some spots are far better than others. We wanted to write an app where students could pool together their knowledge to help each other out.

What it does

Users can see either a list view of bathrooms that people have reviewed, or a Google Maps visualization of bathrooms around campus. Users can also contribute to the site by reviewing and ranking bathrooms they've been to.

How we built it

MERN Stack - We started with a React frontend, got a prototype working with mock data, then wrote the backend in Express and MongoDB. We also used the Google Maps JavaScript API to embed maps into our website.

Challenges we ran into

Working together with Git was a challenge because for most of us, it was our first time working collaboratively on a software project. We originally had ambitious plans, like including user accounts, but we quickly realized we bit off more than we could chew. Additionally, two out of our four group members knew React going into this. However, they already had a good grasp on JavaScript so React wasn't too difficult to learn for them. One of the most difficult things to learn was how to use the Google Maps JavaScript API. We had to read through heavy documentation to determine what was possible via the API and how to implement it.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

It took us a little bit to figure out what we were doing, but after we did, we worked like a machine. We focused on what we were good at, but also when someone ran into a roadblock, the others never afraid to jump in and help them find a solution.

What we learned

Coming from different backgrounds, we all learned a lot from each other. We also learned proper version control practices, and we will know how to manage time better on future projects.

What's next for Restroom Reports

We may refine the UI to work as a mobile website, as a mobile site/app would make more sense for the on-the-go student that would be using the site. We may also implement user accounts so that not just anyone can add reviews. Additionally, we would like to add location-based services that access a user's location and show them the reviews/map for their area. This way, the app could be used outside of UGA.

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