Wander

Figma Design
Welcome Page
Sign Up Page
Profile Page
Trail Information
Map

Inspiration

Many of us grew up in the city, and we did not get the opportunity to explore beyond the city and learn about new environments. College is the perfect opportunity to explore the world around us and form a deeper connection to our environment. We created Wander for college students around the country to interact with and challenge each other through hiking challenges for a great cause.

What it does

Our iOS app gives users a presentation of different locations where users can complete challenges by going to these locations. The app allows users to track the challenges that they complete and access a map where they can explore different trails. Our app also holds data from many different colleges so that students from around the country can all learn about trails nearby them.

How we built it

We built our our app primarily on React Native: using Postgres, express, and and prisma to get data sent to the frontend. What we did first, was decide our database schema and how we wanted to structure our table structure. By then we started gathering trail data, altering it and inserting it into the tables. Next up was the server setup. With express js this was relatively simple. What took the longest was in fact the frontend. Creating the designs then trying to replicate it proved especially difficult since we ran into small design bugs. However, tailwindcss (Nativewind) saved the day and helped us prototype and create React components efficiently and quickly. Lastly, we just needed to fetch some data from our server. We created http request methods to get trail data, which we then altered to fill in as props to our components. One last goal was to add maps and have route tracing; however, due to API key debugging and the limited time constraint we had, we were not able to complete this last feature we had in mind.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge we ran into was the lack of resources on React Native. We had a lot of trouble debugging code and we often times ended up using an inefficient solution. These minuscule bugs often consumed lots of our time; however, we acknowledge that the learned a lot from how we should approach these problems. Often times, using the most time efficient solution might be better than the best solution especially due to the time constraint of hackathons. One example was getting react-maps-directions to work. We ran into problems such as data loading, data fetching, API key problems. And we ultimately, at the end of the day noticed that not everything is doable and not everything can be perfect. We all do think that with challenges, comes a great learning experience and ultimately a more well-rounded final project.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud that we were able to learn so much especially since we tackled all aspects of software development: fullstack. We collected data, setup a database, designed the app, created the frontend, and also setup the backend. This was truly a feat of good teamwork and an efficient allocation of interests and goals. At the end of the day, we built a product that shows our purpose and we hope that it can make an impact!

What we learned

We learned that we should not spend time debugging small things, and that it is important to have a vision for the project you are doing. Oddly enough, this is synonymous to our commitment towards global warming. We won't look at the small feats, but we will work towards achieving big ones! On a more technical side, our entire team learned a lot about iOS development.

What's next for Wander

We want to first build navigation in our app, which will allow people to access places more easily. We also want to implement more places that people can go to, such as parks and nature reserves, in hopes that we can cover most of the natural environment around us. Furthermore, we hope to inspire people to understand the importance of exploring the wilderness, and finding new appreciation for the environment we live in. Lastly, we want to expand our idea to a much broader audience that includes more colleges and more landmarks. We believe that the benefits of being outside and interacting with nature is the first step to a more sustainable future.