-
-
CovidAlert Workflow
Inspiration
Our inspiration was that we are currently in a pandemic where the coronavirus is spreading and killing many people. Even more so, the economic and detrimental health impacts are exacerbated the longer we struggle with the virus and the more that it spreads. The virus and our handling of it impacts every single person so its imperative that we try to achieve better and more effective solutions.
What it does
CovidAlert is an android app that is proprietary in achieving the main goal of mitigating the spread of the coronavirus. It does so in a few main ways. First, by integrating the Bluetooth API, our app runs as a background process that keeps track of the amount of Bluetooth devices in its range, typically 33 feet. By doing so, it may alert an individual in advance before another person can close to a distance of 6 feet. The main problem with apps right now is that they do not prevent the initial spreading of the virus, they only give the ability to contact trace after the spreading has already occurred. By preemptively avoiding those situations, our app will significantly reduce the spreading by acting pre-emptively, not retroactively. Even more so, CovidAlert knows the amount of Bluetooth devices in a certain radius, thus being able to estimate a human density in an area. Once this reaches a certain threshold, our app vibrates and alerts the individual that they are nearing a crowded environment. Second, our app provides a convenient and current way to be informed on current guidelines. Third, our app provides an interactive map which allows for users to find local establishments and businesses that have been verified as safe. By doing so, we not only incentivize businesses to strictly follow safe protocol, but we give ease of mind to individuals that the place they are going to is indeed in accordance to current guidelines. Furthermore, by creating these verified safe establishments, we will be able to deactivate our alarm system while an individual is in that vicinity.
How I built it
We built this app by using Android Studio and the language Java. For the back-end, we used java and Google Cloud to store information we would need about users and establishments. For the Bluetooth part, we used the Bluetooth API and integrated it with Java.
Challenges I ran into
We ran into many challenges over the course of the past 48 hours. First of all, our team was composed of members that all had different levels of experience and different strengths. This made it a challenge to integrate everyone's skills but at the end of the day, we were able to work collaboratively and effectively. Furthermore, In running the Android Studios Emulator, I had to debug for 10 hours overnight due to an unknown error crash at runtime. With no clear answers, I exhausted every possible solution including clearing disk space, updating sdk's, and rewriting code. Eventually, I was able to fix the error and continue implementing other parts of our project.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I am proud of accomplishing a proprietary method to help the fight against the corona virus. Many people are working tirelessly to find innovative solutions as this problem is so devastating, making this a very demanded and difficult feat.
What I learned
I learned how to integrate both the Google Cloud and Bluetooth API with an Android App. Furthermore, I learned plenty about creating click events and the many support libraries/dependencies required to effectively create an app.
What's next for CovidAlert
The next part for CovidAlert is integrating an algorithm that sorts news surrounding Covid, local guidelines, and number of cases. Most likely this will be done via a ML Algorithm. Furthermore, the app will be optimized in being able to distinguish Bluetooth devices that belong to the same individual.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.