SkySync

A thrilling conversation
Another thrilling conversation
A third thrilling conversation

Inspiration

The secret to a hackathon (we've hopefully discovered) is twofold: creativity and usability. In our project, we aimed to encapsulate both. While looking for inspiration and ideas, we came across an abundance, but the one that truly stood out was SkySync. Designing a Bluetooth messenger + eventual game suite was a challenge for all of us. Caleb had never touched Swift in his life, Chris, only once for a short time, and Krish had never used Bluetooth before in an application. This challenge, along with how cool and useful a bluetooth messenger felt, is what drew us in.

What it does

SkySync provides a simple way for users to quickly connect to another device and have a conversation over Bluetooth. Perfect for planes, SkySync has a tested range of over 250ft - enough to sufficiently cover the length of a Boeing 737. Now, instead of paying for wifi or committing federal offenses, you can simply crack open SkySync and get typing. Currently in the making for SkySync's next edition is a suite of games, including but not limited to: Pictionary, Tic-Tac-Toe, and Connect-4. Someday you'll also be able to join The Sky-High Society - our premium subscription service - for access to even higher quality games.

How we built it

SkySync is a very simple but elegant Swift application. Each device plays the role of a Bluetooth Central and Peripheral simultaneously. Is this programming heresy? We couldn't tell you; we haven't been around long enough. Anyways, messages are sent though via the Central and received via the peripheral, and through some magic programming fluff, it pops out as most importantly text, but soon also graphics and other sorts of game information.

Challenges we ran into

One of the main challenges we ran up against was implementing the BluetoothManager. Originally, we tried to write it with Apple's MultipeerConnectivity tools, but those require wifi, meaning that not only will it not work on Purdue's PAL3.0, but it also won't work on a plane without wifi.

We therefore, after a multitude of hours, had to revamp the BluetoothManager a multitude of times until we finally came across a working solution (with enough time to spare for some sleep!).