Inspiration
Our inspiration stems from understanding how technology can enhance people's lives by avoiding dead-end situations. Hearing about the challenges faced in making restaurant reservations in certain European regions and delving deeper into this issue highlighted the logistical delays involved. We thought, why not automate this entire process to improve the situation?
What it does
Restaurant reservations can be efficient, transparent, and need not consume the time and patience of customers and suppliers. With Link a Table, we have created a platform for reservation management and creation using NFTs, promoting transparency, security, and innovation. Through our business rules, we ensure that reservations are made based on a value defined by the company. If the customer shows up, the money goes back to them; if they do not cancel within the specified time or do not appear, the money goes back to the restaurant at the end of the day. Simple, right?
All of this is automated with ChainLink Automations. All reservations are created through our platform and can be minted, ensuring their uniqueness and reliability. No double bookings with our ChainLink Functions ensuring access to our Backend. Additionally, in the future, our valued customers can be recognized for being good consumers, gaining advantages through NFT collections, as well as a marketplace for each restaurant to enable gains for those clients who love to speculate in any market. This is Link a Table, revolutionizing the way of creating, reserving, and relating to restaurants.
How we built it
We built ChainLink with both businesses and customers in mind. On the business side, we created an easy way to create and manage reservations, while on the customer side, we focused on simplifying their experience so that their reservation is made in just a few clicks. We constructed our prototype using Scaffold-ETH, with a backend powered by Mongo DB. We utilized Chainlink Automation to manage check-ins and value transfers. To maintain the integrity of our reservations, we employed Chainlink Functions for communication with our backend.
Challenges we ran into
We faced several challenges, especially as newcomers to web3 development. The main challenge was trying to code a complex idea that has two sides: the company side that needs to create, manage, and keep track of reservations, and the user side that needs to make reservations, cancel them, and do the check-ins. Initially, the idea seemed simple and easy, but as we progressed, things became more complex, requiring modifications, reorganizations, and ideas that needed to be implemented in the future.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are thrilled to have made progress and successfully delivered a functioning solution. One of our major achievements was integrating Chainlink Functions with the backend, along with developing the front-end pages and establishing diverse communications with the contracts. Additionally, automating the check-in process and providing users with a simple QR code for check-ins was a significant milestone for us.
What we learned
We've learned that a seemingly simple idea is often more complex than we imagine, and we must work hard to achieve simplicity within that complexity. We also recognize the need to simplify and improve the maintainability of our code, as this could become a problem in the future.
What's next for Link a Table
The next step for Link a Table is to evolve into a useful and user-friendly product for our clients. We need to test and enhance the robustness of our code, as well as create a marketplace to allow exchanges and sales of reservations, generating more revenue for the product. Additionally, it's essential to use account abstraction to improve the user experience, along with a complete overhaul of the UX and UI. Furthermore, integrating a decentralized database is crucial to ensure data security and reliability.
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