InnovaMeIn

Inspiration

Our ultimate goal has been to to leverage serverless technologies to implement large scale and non-invasive solutions for unattended home deliveries. It is of utmost importance to focus on sustainable solutions to the growing demand of online retail.

What it does

We have built a platform that allows customers to interact more directly with parcel delivery personnel. By logging into a mobile app, customers have access to a comprehensive set of information regarding the tracking of all of their parcels. Employees of the postal service will also greatly benefit from the app, as they will be able to send updates to their customers. Our project really shines in its vast improvements to on-site delivery, where we have envisioned a system that opens a secure spot for the package to be placed. When a customer is not available to accept their delivery, they will no longer have to worry about the item being placed in an unsafe area. The employee will now be able to prompt the user when they are at the door and ready to hand the package off. In the event where the customer cannot be present to accept the parcel, a text message will be sent to the customer, asking for confirmation for the employee to have access to the secure spot for the parcel. Only when a valid reply is received from the customer, the secure spot will be revealed, allowing the parcel to be delivered safely and securely.

How we built it

We developed on a MEAN stack. The system is backed behind a MongoDB database, which contains user information and shipment details. Our mobile app is written in Java and running on Android. The server side rests on a Node.js server running Express. We also have a Python script running on the hardware.

Challenges we ran into

The SMS service was an interesting and challenging aspect we brought into the project . For some group members, it was their first experience with JS, so we had to support each other through the learning curve.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are quite excited to actually have a working product, with a level of sophistication we did not realize we were capable of in 24 hours.

What we learned

Each group member gained experience with a new language or utility, whether it be MongoDB, JS, or Android Studio.

What's next for InnovaMeIn

We need to put more thought into the delivery compartment aspect of the delivery, as obviously customers will have varying secure spots for delivery, such as a dog door, mailbox, or tray.