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Inspiration
Carbon emissions have been a problem on the rise. On average, a passenger vehicle emits 4.6 metric tons of CO2 per year and every gallon of gasoline burned creates about 8,887 grams of CO2. All this CO2 traps heat in our atmosphere and has led to increasing temperatures in the past century. With competition as a strong initiative, we wanted to make an app that cuts down on emissions while creating a fun environment competing with friends and family.
What it does
VanPool is an Android app, where users input their data on transportation trips. The user input needed includes how many total people are riding in the vehicle, the type of vehicle being driven, and the duration of the trip. Using this data, the app will calculate how many points are earned for each trip and add it to the total amount of points. From these points, you can quantify how well you are reducing carbon emissions compared to others with VanPool. By encouraging carpooling, people are more inclined to not drive alone and reduce their carbon emissions.
How we built it
VanPool was built in Android Studio using Dart and Flutter.
Challenges we ran into
Our team only knew Python and very minimal Java. In order to use Android Studio, we needed to learn how to code with Dart and Flutter on Android Studio. Most of the day, we watched tutorial videos on how to make an app.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Firstly, we are proud of the fact that we participated in this event as we are all beginners and 3/4 are first-timers. Next, we are proud of the fact that we were able to complete our project, despite us needing to learn an entirely new coding language within the 24-hour time period. Lastly, we are proud that even though it was our first time in a hackathon, we were able to work effectively and efficiently as a team.
What we learned
We learned how to use the Android Studio IDE along with Dart and Flutter. Using the Android Studio IDE, we learned how to create a functional Android app. We also learned how to use Git in order to collaborate well and about the importance of APIs and the work laid out by others. Likewise, in order to make an app, as beginners, in such a short amount of time we learned how to work well as a team and manage our time efficiently.
What's next for VanPool
We're going to make some updates to the program. We would love to use firebase to include a login and authentication along with a leaderboard. We would also like to use Google Maps API to better the integrity of our app.
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