DishCount

Inspiration

It was a cold Friday night at Poulet Rouge, and as I paid for my meal, it hit me—I’d forgotten to ask for the student discount. Again. Frustration gave way to inspiration: what if there was an app that ensured students never missed out on the discounts they’re entitled to? This wasn’t just about saving a few dollars—it was about empowering students to make the most of their limited budgets. That night sparked a vision for something bigger: an app that helps students savemore, stress less, and maybe even afford the extra guac in their burrito bowl.

What it does

The app has 2 main functions:

It alerts the user using a push notification when they are near a restaurant that offers student discounts if they are there for more than 45 seconds. Or it notifies the user of the restaurants they passed after they’ve walked a certain distance.
On the home page you can either click on the various restaurants available which will bring you to a map showing its location, discount and name, or you can click on the map bar at the bottom of the screen to view which restaurants near you offer discounts

Challenges we ran into

Taking on this project came with two key challenges:

Building an iOS App on Windows Since iOS compilation requires macOS, and only one teammate had a Mac, we used Expo’s cloud services and coordinated builds to overcome this limitation.
Apple’s Restriction on Live Location Tracking To comply with Apple’s privacy rules, we devised a formula using distance and time between app interactions to estimate the user’s midpoint and find nearby discounts, ensuring functionality without continuous tracking.

What we learned

Diving into this project was like setting off on a thrilling expedition, being the first time for the both of us in ap development, we expanded our skills by mastering:

Developing location-based notifications to ensure precise and timely reminders for users
Designing clean and dynamic interfaces in React Native for an intuitive user experience
Implementing geospatial calculations to simulate user movement and proximity to stores
Optimizing app performance using Expo's managed workflow for cross-platform efficiency
Securing sensitive data with API key management and environment variables
Integrating robust APIs for retrieving and displaying discount data seamlessly

What's next for DishCount?

Our next steps focus on enhancing the app's functionality and value for both users and businesses.

We aim to deliver instant notifications about nearby discounts without requiring repeated user interaction with the app.
Showcase local business which will foster community connections, increase foot traffic and offer students unique and affordable dining experiences
Integrate a digital version of the student ID and discount cards, which will streamline the redemption process, reduce reliance on physical cards, and expand access to discounts.
Introduce a business analytics feature that will allow restaurants to track foot traffic, and help school identify popular spots, creating a data driven ecosystem that benefits all parties.