Vuelout

Inspiration

Airports can be chaotic during power outages or service blackouts, no signal, no Wi-Fi, and no way to stay informed. We wanted to build a solution that keeps passengers connected no matter what.

What it does

Vuelout is a mobile app for Vueling passengers that enables communication during blackouts using Wi-Fi peer-to-peer (Wi-Fi Direct). Users can chat without internet or cellular networks. In the future, it could evolve into a decentralized network where admins can push real-time flight notifications and updates.

How we built it

We developed the app using Android and integrated Wi-Fi Direct for peer-to-peer connectivity. The UI was built with native Android components, and we implemented a basic messaging system to allow real-time communication between nearby devices. We used Flutter.

Challenges we ran into

Setting up stable Wi-Fi Direct connections was more complex than expected, especially with device discovery and managing dynamic IPs. We also had to handle UI responsiveness while maintaining a reliable background connection.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We got peer-to-peer messaging working without any internet! Seeing two phones communicate entirely offline felt like magic, especially in a real-world scenario like an airport blackout.

What we learned

We learned how to harness device-to-device communication using Wi-Fi Direct and understood the challenges of networking without infrastructure. We also gained valuable experience building user-friendly offline-first apps.

What's next for Vuelout

Next, we want to expand it into a mesh network so users can relay messages beyond direct connections. We also plan to create an admin dashboard to send flight notifications to users in real time, even during outages.

Built With

• dart
• flutter