Trimpl

Trimpl

Trimpl - Trips Made Simple

[Pic Credit: Google Images] [URL:https://www.eccgreece.gr/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/635989366599669716184108138_traveler-checks1040cs013013.jpg]

Team Members:

Michael Schwarz, Kiran Dangol, Dylan Kreth, Ben Weldon

Inspiration

When traveling between hackathons, Kiran wanted to be able to find other people making a similar journey in order to make friends and travel arrangements. His idea was Trimpl, an app that allows travelers to connect with each other.

What it does

Trimpl registers travellers of any background and then allows them to create trips which could be city-to-city, country-to-country or more. Trimpl then matches registered users with similar travel routes and provides users with related trips and users by providing them with relevant contact information. Travelers can then get in touch to make travel arrangements such as carpools, meet ups, ridesharing, etc. while cutting down trip expenses and adding more fun and adventure to their journey.

How we built it

-> Servide Side: Python (Flask) -> Database: mySQL & AWS Cloud Computing -> IDEs & Tools used: PyCharm, Android Studio, Google Maps’s Places API, Google’s gson API to work with JSON objects, RESTFUL API to integrate server connections with database and UI Input/Output

Challenges we ran into

A lack of experience working with new APIs and server difficulties limiting how fast we could finish subparts of the project. We started with a relatively constrained app idea, but were forced to make it even more limited as time ran out.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Having a somewhat functional prototype is a good start. HackUTD17 also improved our skills with Android Studio and other app development tools.

What we learned

-> Familiarity with publicly available resourceful APIs. -> Improved usage of programming tools such as Android Studio, Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud, server-side programming, working with databases.

What's next for Trimpl

-> The software architecture is easily portable to a web-based application since a lot of the infrastructures can be reused and easily scaled (such as the SQL database and Flask server) -> We plan to add more functionalities to it such as adding trips by flights, cruises, bikes/bicycles -> Future developments could integrate the Google’s GPS API to locate nearby locations and lookup places helping users to better plan trips. -> A deeper integration of user profiles in the database connecting other users’ social media accounts so that the system potentially works as a social media for travelers.