TextTome

Type a word
Send it
Receive the response
Type a new word and send it
Receive the response
Our website
Mobile connection (low speed)
Mobile connection (high speed)
Diagram with the communications

Inspiration

Some areas in the world have not mobile data coverage, or the speed is too slow. For those cases, we though it could be useful for people to provide them a free service to search for any word they are looking for only by sending an SMS (you can see the whole process with the pictures slides).

What it does

It basically let's the user scan a QR code from our website using their mobile and it automatically opens the SMS application with a phone number written on it (if the user already knows the phone number this step is not necessary). Then the user just needs to type the word/s he/she is looking for, and the application is going to make a search using Wikipedia API and retrieve the brief description of that word, and then send it back to the user by SMS.

How we built it

We used Twilio API to register a phone number, and also to make the communication between any phone and the server, and from the server we call Wikipedia API. We used Node.JS to build it.

Challenges I ran into

Using Twilio API. Trying to build an app anyone can use it with any mobile device. Making it easy to use for end-users.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Learn how to use Twilio API and Wikipedia API.

What I learned

Twilio API, Wikipedia API, some useful Node.JS functions, working as a team.

What's next for TextTome

We would like to give users more services, so they can freely subscribe to the service they want. For example, an automatic translation service using Google Translator API, or a public transportation API.