Fortis: Be Fearless

Inspiration

Urban navigation often overlooks a critical factor: safety. While maps help us get from point A to B, they don’t account for high-crime areas, leaving pedestrians vulnerable, especially during late hours or in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
This was especially important to us, living in San Jose. We wanted to build a tool that doesn’t just help you get somewhere quickly, but safely.
That's where Fortis comes in: a real-time, safety-aware navigation app that empowers users with knowledge and peace of mind.

What it does

Fortis is a safety-first route mapping and crime visualization platform.
It allows users to:

📍 Input start and destination points and receive crime-aware walking routes.
🧭 See routes color-coded by safety (Green = Safe, Red = Risky).
🔥 Visualize real-time crime data on a heatmap.
🧑‍🤝‍ Share location with trusted peers (mocked).
🔎 Filter crimes by type and time.
🌙 Navigate safely in a sleek, dark-themed interface optimized for night use.

How we built it

We used a modern full-stack setup:

Frontend: React (Next.js App Router), Tailwind CSS, TypeScript
Backend: Express.js server handling route safety scoring
Database: Firebase Firestore to store crime data and user info
Maps: Google Maps Platform via @react-google-maps/api
APIs:
- Directions API for route generation
- Places API for autocomplete
Analysis:
- Custom algorithm using the Haversine formula and weighted crime severity to rate route safety
Mock Location Sharing:
- Static data showing live friend positions with toggle settings
Low-Code Implementation
By using Vercel's V0 and Bolt.new we were able to create the frontend of the website with ease. ---

Challenges we ran into

🗺️ Using the Google Maps API, was especially difficult since it was our first time.
🧠 Designing a good route analysis algorithm using Djikstra and A* that was both fast and meaningful.
🌐 Handling geolocation permissions and fallback scenarios.
🔧 Optimizing for performance and responsiveness across screen sizes with complex map interactions.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a fully functional crime-aware routing system with live map rendering.
Designed a beautiful, dark-themed UI with Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui components.
Implemented a clean, modular structure using TypeScript and custom hooks.
Developed a heatmap + filtering system that feels intuitive and fast.
Created a full mock peer-tracking feature, which could be easily expanded into real-time tracking.

What we learned

Learned to use not only the Google Maps APIs but Google Cloud Platform and how to control overlays, styles, and interactions.
How to use Firebase Firestore effectively for geospatial data.
The importance of good UX in safety-focused apps—users need clarity and confidence.
How to modularize code for scalability and reusability in large component-based systems.
The value of thoughtful error handling—especially when dealing with live location and network-based services.

What's next for Fortis

We're excited to take Fortis further by:

🔔 Adding real-time crime alerts with push notifications
💻 Fully implementing integration with Gemini for summarizing alerts, which we were only able to do halfway due to time limitations
👥 Enabling live peer location sharing via Firebase Realtime Database
🗃️ Expanding the database to support multiple cities
📊 Building an admin dashboard for verified crime reporting
🧪 A/B testing our route safety algorithm and improving its scoring accuracy
🔐 Adding Firebase Auth for personalized experience and saved preferences