We are submitting this for the Environmental Prize.
Inspiration
This project was inspired by the need for safe navigation, as well as a way to track user's carbon footprint. Being exposed to heavy traffic during the school year has pushed us to want to reduce the amount of gas emissions, therefore reducing Cupertino’s carbon footprint. Integrating both of these components provided us with an innovative idea that could potentially help reduce the public's carbon footprint.
What it does
With the help of Swift, Java, and UI design, an innovative app, EcoItAll, has been created. This app will help the user stay safe while biking as well as inform them of what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint. “CycleSafe,” one of the two sections within the app, provides the user with a map with bike accidents in a certain area as well as a map of bike lanes. The other section, “Carbon Footprint Calculator,” will provide the user with percentages about their carbon footprint, statistics of the average American, and a goal setter to help the user reduce their carbon footprint.
How I built it
Using Swift, we were able to easily and innovatively develop the UI’s. We also had to use many text fields to take in the user’s input, which we then stored in a multitude of variables. We then used these variables to perform calculations, whose answers were passed from screen to screen to be able to be displayed at the end of the program. For CycleSafe, we used Google Maps and integrated it with Swift. We placed markers that contained information about the number of bicycle accidents that have occurred at certain intersections/crossroads.
Challenges I ran into
Through coding, we ran into some fixable problems. For example, the results kept on printing as zero in the beginning, but we soon realized our mistake and were able to fix it. We also had to make a series of changes to the logic of our program on Swift, which proved to be very tedious as we had to make the same changes for the multitude of panels we had running. Another challenging obstacle was the task of adding Google Maps to Swift. Using much terminal code, we were able to get Google Maps working, however we then faced another problem of how to add markers and pin-point locations on the map. With help from mentors and resources on the internet, we were able to code the markers and get them to work.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
We were able to create the application using different coding languages, as we originally coded the carbon footprint in Java to solidify the logic of the program. Being able to comprehend different languages and use them successfully is an accomplishment to be proud of. We also managed to fix all the bugs we ran into by using online resources and mentors, which was another great accomplishment as we had many panels that we had to fix in such a small amount of time.
What I learned
Through this experience, we learned how to navigate Swift on a deeper level, manage our time wisely, and discuss with others to create a new and original idea. Although we started with different ideas, we were able to merge the ideas so that they became related to each other through collaboration.
What's next for EcoItAll
If we were to take our application forward, we would make it more user-involved by having users log in their carbon footprints through the internet. This would then create a map of carbon footprints across the world that users could use to compete against each other. Similarly, users could compete against each other on the biking feature by logging in their miles to see who could go the farthest.
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