Inspiration
Our Cougar Express shuttle is a lifeline for commuting students, but no one ever knows how crowded the next ride will be. We wanted a simple way to track the Cougar Express in real time and broadcast its occupancy and location so students (including us!) can decide whether to wait, walk, or catch the next bus.
Inspiration from hackathon
How We Built It
- Hardware: Arduino ESP32 + LCD module
- Frontend: React app using the browser’s
Geolocation API(vianavigator.watchPosition()) - Cloud: Firebase Firestore to store each update
- Backend: Python script that reads Firestore data and pushes it to the LCD in near–real time
Challenges We Ran Into
- Our Raspberry Pi didn’t support Wi-Fi or Bluetooth out of the box
- We didn’t have a standalone GPS module, so we had to rely on users’ phones for live location data
Accomplishments We’re Proud Of
- Built a full end-to-end shuttle tracker without dedicated GPS hardware
- Got React’s
watchPosition()to feed live updates into Firebase and then onto a physical LCD
What We Learned
- Laptops (and most dev boards) don’t have built-in GPS—who knew?
-learnt Arduino ESP32 + LCD module and raspberry pi - Gained new hardware skills on the ESP32 and learned how to wire up async data flows between React, Firebase, and Python
What’s Next for Shuttle Tracker
- Integrate with the institution’s official website and backend database
- Add authentication so only students/staff can view live shuttle locations
- Improve error handling and optimize update frequency for spotty mobile connections
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