Trip Sharing Platform
Jingya Wu, Jordan Faith, Lucas Gregory, Sienna Mosher

Background

This project was raised initially to solve the problem of tracking national parks that the client has visited. Later on the client expended the problem to a trip sharing platform through which users can create, share, and complete lists of places to visit and is not limited to national parks any more. To be accessible this platform should be on the web and also mobily accessible. There have been many attempts at this type of software solution, but only marginal success stories. This leaves a market gap for us. The final deliverable should be a fully functional platform that can be used to log and share places as well as potentially creating lists of places for users to interact and compete with each other.

Executive Summary

To solve the problem identified above, we propose that the solution should at least be a mobile app, and ideally also a web application to complement the mobile version. The mobile app should include location service to enable users to check in at different places. The app also need to integrate Google Maps and utilizes its APIs to retrieve popular places. To be successful this needs to be a social travel network. This entails allowing users to login through their Facebook and/or Gmail accounts so that they can interact with their friends much easier, as well as allowing users to post to Facebook via the travel app. The mobile version is necessary because users need to check-in at places they visit, and we cannot expect them to bring a laptop wherever they go. The web application can complement the mobile app to provide a better exploring and viewing experience of trips and lists created by others. Every user will have a travel list comprised of their travel history, as well as the option to make lists for specific areas, wish lists, and more. Another great feature would be to have locals compile public lists of all the must-visit spots in the area. The basic structure of this application for both the mobile end and the web will include: a database for users’ account information, back-end algorithms to display the most relevant places/lists, as well as a clean and user-friendly front-end interface that can attract users as a new application.

Viability Analysis

The biggest challenge in this app is going to be organization. There are similar apps out there that attempt some of the proposed functionality, but the user interface is complicated, unorganized, and renders many features useless. Much of development will need to be spent finding the best organization to categorize locations, present the data, and lower overhead for users. Another issue is that this app needs users as much as the users need the app. If the locations are all created by users, the app starts with zero locations. It may be beneficial to internally create a base list of locations in order to overcome this challenge. In addition, this project will be built from scratch, meaning that as a team we need to decide on what languages and frameworks to use, and thus must keep in mind the current knowledge of all team members as well as the learning curve of learning new stuff. This is especially relevant to this project since we might need to develop on Android, iOS, and web, and this can be challenging.

Risks and Rewards

Currently there is no existing way to track and share places visited. This application can promote the traveling industry as traveling can become more rewarding for some people when they have a checklist to complete or when they are competing with someone else. This application, if in good use, can also give visitors to a local village good recommendations on where the good attractions and/or restaurants are for visiting. It can also empower locals to show the world the best things to do in their city. One issue that may arise is moderation. If we have a list representing a city that anyone of the city can add to, there may be some ill fitting locations added that are private residences, fake places, and/or places that seek to gain popularity through this app. Some moderations may be required, and this risk can be minimized by creating a rating system for locations lists and users who are publishing the lists, as well as by implementing an algorithm that recommends valuable and accountable lists to the users.

Closing

Overall, this is a fantastic idea and is reasonable to implement given the time and resources constraints. This application will be instrumental for travelers, who now have a place to log, share, and enthuse about their travel experiences. With the proposed features (places logging and sharing, list creating, etc) and external resources (Google Maps, Facebook, Google account) integrated, we can see a successful product that nothing else in the market has in common.

Interactive Digital Map
Jingya Wu, Jordan Faith, Lucas Gregory, Sienna Mosher

Background

Antigua has a rich history that goes largely unshared and unappreciated to the general public. Creating an accessible way for people around the country to learn more about Antigua’s history in an interactive, in depth, and exciting way would raise awareness about the history of Antigua, focusing on their historic sugar mills. A good start would be to create a digital map with plenty of interactivity and facts about the country. For these purposes you could use a modified google map, or a paper map representation, that then allows a user to click through each location and bring up a window displaying all relevant information. This map would act as the homepage and navigation bar of the website which would then branch off into the other pages which would be necessary to convey as much information as is required. There is a large amount of information that must be conveyed in a meaningful way, to this end the site has to be easily navigated and understood while still being interesting to the user.

Executive Summary

An interactive map would be a good plan to keep a user absorbed while still letting them achieve the goal of learning about Antigua. This solution would allow the user to navigate a detailed map, either decorative or realistic via google maps, that would let the user navigate to each point of interest and learn about its significance to the local area. These points could be marked via symbols or dots to represent what their significance is, then upon clicking on the marker the user would see a popup that displays minimal information with the option to go to a location specific page to read a more in depth summary. Such an implementation would allow the users to get drawn into exploring the map and make the act of learning an interesting experience. For easier navigation at a later date there could also be the option to lookup locations by name, or by using a list of all points organized by historical purpose. Curating an immersive historical journey through Antigua is the best way to get users familiar with its geography and history.

Viability Analysis

Through either satellite imagery or a decorative map, such as that employed in a related Mount Vernon interactive map, it would possible to easily navigate the site’s information. The basic information and the expanded pages could each be their own individual resources, meaning that an external database would not be necessary for initial implementation. As noted above each point of interest could trigger a popup window with the most basic information for that location. It could then allow the user to follow a hyperlink to another web page, either internal or external to the main site, where they could do more in depth research. Plugins such as GMaps or D3js allow for large amount of customization and include support for HTML overlays that would make user interaction a seamless process. Other tools, such as Kartograph, allow for large scale customization including custom maps, data points, click structures, animations, and more.
As for future maintenance, each point of interest could be edited on an as needed basis directly through the source code. If any edits are required, or a new point is added on the map, it would only need minor adjustments to go live on the existing structure. This alleviates the need for a robust backend and instead allows for full dedication to a purposeful front end to fully accomplish the goals of this project. This also decreases the upkeep load on the client and removes unnecessary costs for maintaining an extensive database linked to the website. With this model a database could be kept locally or online in the cloud, and data could be pulled whenever required for minor updates.

Risks and Rewards

This map would allow users to learn the history of Antigua through a fun and interactive medium, especially if we utilized tools for animations and real time inputs. There is some possibility of historical error about the area; however, this would be left to those maintaining and updating the website, not the initial developers. Impact from this service would be more niche than widespread, but would still provide useful tools to someone interested in learning about Antigua and the surrounding areas. Such a tool could also be extrapolated to surrounding areas and applied to more locations worldwide.

Closing

A project as important as preserving history needs to have careful attention paid to it. A solution such as the one listed above would allow for growth and iterations on the design, encouraging the continued expansion of facts and corrections of data as the need arises. The owner would be provided with a set of tools that would fully meet their needs and allow them to have full authority of how the history is represented in the most meaningful way possible via an administrative view of the map. This project would be an interesting challenge to build and make sure that the user’s interface and experience meet the highest expectations of the client.

Interactive Digital Map

Background

This project is making an attempt to digitally map Antigua’s sugar plantations, their history, and the history of the region around them. The goal is to make an interactive map that acts as an introduction into this history. For these purposes you could use a modified google map, or a paper map representation, that then allows a user to click through each location and bring up a window displaying all relevant information. This map would act as the homepage and navigation bar of the website which would then branch off into the other pages which would be necessary to convey as much information as is required. There is a large amount of information that must be conveyed in a meaningful way, to this end the site has to be easily navigated and understood while still being interesting to the user.

Executive Summary

An interactive map would be a good plan to keep a user interested while still letting them achieve the goal of education. This solution would allow the user to navigate a detailed map, either decorative or realistic via google maps, that would let the user navigate to each point of interest and learn about its significance to the local area. These points could be marked via symbols or dots to represent what their significance is, then upon clicking on the marker the user would see a popup that displays minimal information with the option to go to a location specific page to read a more in depth summary. Such an implementation would allow the users to get drawn into exploring the map and make the act of learning an interesting experience. For easier navigation at a later date there could also be the option to lookup locations by name, or by using a list of all points organized by historical purpose.

Viability Analysis

Through either satellite imagery or a decorative map it would possible to overlay a second click map that scales based on screen size to ensure that any users could navigate over both maps and click into the points they are interested about. The basic information and the expanded pages could each be their own individual resources, meaning that an external database would not be necessary for initial implementation. Each point would simply be edited in turn if new information is required. This alleviates the need for a robust backend and instead allows for full dedication to a purposeful front end to fully accomplish the goals of this project.

Risks and Rewards

This map would allow many people to learn of the history of Antigua through a fun and interactive manner. There is some possibility of error about the history. However, this would be left to those maintaining and updating the website, not the initial builders. Impact from this service would be more niche than widespread, but would still provide useful tools to someone interested in learning about Antigua and the surrounding areas.

Closing

A project as important as preserving history needs to have careful attention paid to it. A solution such as that listed above would allow growth later in the sites life, it would allow for continuing expansion of facts and corrections of data as the need arises. It would provide the owner with a set of tools that would fully meet their needs and allow them to have full authority of how the history is represented in the most meaningful way possible. This project would be an interesting challenge to build and make sure that the user’s interface and experience meet the highest expectations of the client.

Peanut Pal

Background

Peanut Pal is a project that intends to assist children who are participating in oral immunotherapy. The app would need to remind the child that it is time for their treatment, make sure the child is aware of the dose, exercise restrictions, and make sure the interactions are simple enough for a child to use. Such an app could utilize voice controls and large displays to make sure the child does not wrongly apply their peanut solution. This app would have to be very easy to use and have many assurances to make sure that the treatment is correct, delivered on time, and followed up with the right actions.

Executive Summary

Voice activated user interfaces would be easiest from a users point of view, paired with large colorful displays this type of system would be able to accurately display the days treatment information. This system would have to have many systems of verification, followups in the form of notifications via the phone’s alarm system. With a child’s health being dependent on the correct application of the peanut solution it would have to make sure the data is always verified and delivered to the correct individual.

Viability Analysis

This app would require a robust verification system and backend solution. A secure database housing all of the user’s health requirements for this treatment, their treatment times, levels, and special cases would also be needed. The front end display and user interface would be relatively easy to implement, the bulk of the labor would be spent in the database and safety features throughout the app. For the third point about exercise it may also be possible to track the user’s movement through the phone and ensure that they are not exercising in any way.

Risks and Rewards

While there is a level of risk in any medical apps, this particular app would be able to alleviate a common and potentially severe allergy. Such an app would have a large impact on the community and allow individuals to no longer have to worry about the threat of a peanut allergy once the treatments are complete.

Closing

This app is a great opportunity to make a lasting impact on the user’s life. While challenging this project would be exciting to undertake and ensure that the resulting app is secure, accurate, and helpful to anyone who uses it. Many aspects of this app could be customized to make the child more interested in using it, result in a successful user experience for all involved in this new therapy method.

TopDoc

Background

This project aims to be a study guide, or refresher course, tool for the medical field; accompanying all of the diversity and skill that is required for such a task. As such this would require a relatively data heavy backend and an easy to use front end. The comparison to the language app Duolingo is a good representation of how this app would progress. Such an app would require an easy to use user interface along with rewards and stats tracking to maintain this app as the preferred method of learning over existing techniques.

Executive Summary

First this app would need a clearly defined user interface. Whether this be organized through a skill tree, linearly, experience based, or any other method would be decided on by cooperation between the client and coders. The puzzles would be fairly straight forward, the end result would most likely take the form of simple quizzes, picture analysis, and four to five other methods that are quickly learned and then used to focus on material instead of the game. The backend database would have to be very well maintained to ensure only accurate and useful medical knowledge is used in the tests.

Viability Analysis

No matter how the user interface side is structured the database side will always retain the same general format; a bank of questions and their relating answers, documentation for each user and their success or failures, and some sort of tracking mechanic to ensure that the user is not too far ahead or behind of their relative skill level. To this end the placement would have to be based on prior performance and a loose algorithmic approach to slowly grade to user. While everyone could start at the same baseline, they would easily be able to test out of the simpler areas and progress into areas more relevant and useful to their area of expertise. Such a structure would allow the user to range in experience from pre-med to experienced doctor.

Risks and Rewards

Furthering education is always a good goal, however, something as sensitive as medical training would have to have many precautions built in to make sure that only accurate information was given out. If such an app is to be trusted it must be fully vetted by some form of medical professional. This task would fall to the client instead of the coder. From the aspect of the coder then this is a great product that could serve to further education and make a decent deliverable for proof of concept.

Closing

I feel that more than a simple proof of concept would be possible by the end of the term, an app of this size would be able to have the front end finished rather quickly. The backend would be able to be built out via SQLserver and would support continued integration and expansion with new knowledge. This would be an engaging project that would allow to incorporation of a full stack approach to ensure a viable final product to the client.