Inspiration
In light of the tragic events regarding the Cal Poly Kristin Smart case, my partner and I felt we could try and tackle the very relevant and serious issue surrounding safety at times when you are walking alone on campus, in your city through dimly lit areas, or anywhere one may feel uneasy. This idea also seemed very fitting for the goal of our overarching data visualization theme for this Hackathon, as we compiled a vast amount of raw data to help build the markers on the map.
What it does
Path Protector provides a visual display of your local surroundings regarding crime and safety. The application draws from data from San Luis Obispo crime records, sex offender lists, and locations of local safety spots. With a specific, actively updated marker on a users current location, they can see what potential unsafe locations they may be near, avoid them, or have a path to reach safety spots if needed.
How we built it
We used react to build our web application, along with Google API and Crime Map APIs. Our frontend was developed using Javascript, HTML, and CSS.
Challenges we ran into
None of our team had previous experience using react, and so was quite the challenge learning how to use and implement reactive, APIs, and databases to build our app. We ran into were implementing the use of Google APIs because Google recently took off the free version for API utilization. The requests were sometimes infrequent, slowing development.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Our app was able to be built and the backend functionality for the main safety features are there. We can fully use this app currently when we go on walks now.
What's next for PathProtector
We hope that a stronger awareness of surroundings can keep people safer. In the future, we would hope to add features that can let you know if you're nearing a threat, map you the safest route, and implement features to let friends and family know when you're beginning a walk and when you safely arrive at your destination. We would also love to integrate this for other college campuses.
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