Inspiration
- We were inspired at a local startup with the same concept, a vehicle renting app that lets users rent E-scooters, roam around and leave it anywhere. The app was moovr and it is operating at BGC taguig and Makati
What it does
- It essentially follows the same concept as moovr, but it uses mechanically powered pedal bikes. We believe that a mix of innovation and environment conscioussness is key to creating ground breaking applications/services. We strayed away from the usual ride for leisure and instead looked at the practicality of the service. By locating a perfect target area for deployment, a very large exclusive Village that has little to no internal public transport, residents are forced to either walk or navigate using their vehicles, which may contribute to environmental degredation. Our system aids the need for publicly accessible transport within the village premises, providing a bike renting service available for all residents or even outsiders who are visiting someone inside the village. To further safeguard the units, we have deployed a geofence tracking feature that sends SMS alerts to the village's admins and employees, as well as an administrative dashboard for monitoring all bikes within the perimiter.
How we built it
IoT : uses an ESP32 microcontroller, a pocket 4G/LTE WiFi modem, a powerbank, a GPS module, a triple axis module, and an OLED display encased in an IP67 waterproof casing attached to the frame of the bike (designed to not interfere with pedaling)
Backend Server : the backend server is built using NodeJS Express, which handles APIs as well as the primary link to the IoT via MQTT. It handles ride logic, geofencing logic, SMS logic, transaction logic and more.
Firebase Database : our database is NoSQL, specifically firebase. This is a more plausible choice because of the realtime database feature, which is beneficial for realtime GPS updates used in bike monitoring
Web App : our admin dashboard is built using Django, which retrieves data from the database to view transactions, create/edit/delete geofences, monitor bikes and disable/enable user accounts.
Mobile App : our mobile application is built using Android Studio's android SDK (Java) and is the provided interface for residents. This app is used to rent bikes, view ride histories, and manage e-payment transactions.
Challenges we ran into
Challenges:
hardware integrity : we faced difficulties in trying to safeguard and keep the IoT function during ride operations, as minor bumps or slight vibrations caused the hardware to power off or be in risk of damage
integration : since the system uses a variety of technologies, we were challenged in terms of integrating all components togethrr
feasibility : before the concept of an exclusive area deployment and geofence monitoring, we were challenged oh how to make this feasible, as our country, the Philippines, is notorious for theft and criminal activity wherever you go.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
- our primary accomplishment is the completion of the system, all functions worked perfectly, even coordinated succesfully with the villagr admins. We were proud that the village admins found this a helpful addition to there village.
What we learned
- we gained insightful knowledge from those who guided us and helped us along the way. From IoT technologies, to integration assistance, to prototype suggestions, we gained an immense amount of wisdom, primarily in IoT technologies
What's next for Sikad
- we plan on commercializing the service, coordinating with more areas in the country that are ideal for Sikad deployment, partnering with many organizations to further expand and grow the start up
