ROOMY.CO

App design
Step 2 - Work
Step 1 - Birthday
Landing Page

Inspiration

It all started with 3 of our founders, incoming freshman university students who found that finding roommates was a challenge. So, the idea was to develop an app where students can find matching roommates. However, one team member decided it was interesting if we made it tinder-styled, where the process of finding a roommate was essentially gamified.

What it does

A mobile app that helps university students find their perfect roommate based on their preferences. The user swipes the card left to decline, swipes right to accept, and swipes up to chat with the person. The card provides the necessary information for the user such as the person's name, age, pronouns, university, room type, faith, etc. Through an algorithm, the app provides other profiles that meet the user's preferences the most.

How we built it

We built this project with the MERN stack (MongoDB, ExpressJS, React Native, NodeJS) in combination with TypeScript, expo, and android studio. We started in Figma for the UI/UX designs, and we then started development.

Challenges we ran into

Some challenges we ran into included a lack of knowledge across the team; lack of knowledge in React Native and git. A specific example can be brought up when a teammate merged buggy code into main, leading us to waste 3 hours trying to revert the commit and merge. We faced this challenge by putting ego aside and getting a mentor who helped us solve the issue.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Through this project, we had the opportunity to learn React Native and Typescript which most of us lacked knowledge of. We started by watching React Native YouTube tutorials to the point where we were able to create components, and screens, and tackle any challenges related to our project. In addition, two members of the team were able to learn how to use Figma and have a basic understanding of UI/UX design.

What we learned

One of the things that we learned throughout this project is that we deepened our knowledge of programming and developed our teamwork skills. Some of the hackers in the team lacked knowledge in using git such as making a pull request through the terminal or merging changes to the main branch of the repository. The team also learned React Native through YouTube tutorials and was able to develop the app. Other things that we learned as a collective were resilience and teamwork. Although some of the members made mistakes, we didn’t blame it nor get mad at each other but viewed it as an opportunity to learn and problem-solve.

What's next for ROOMY.CO

We are all about continuous improvement. This is why we have a plan to expand Roomy.co even after the Ignition Hacks.

Here's what we are working on:

Improving UI: Enhance the user interface to simplify navigation, ensuring that users can easily access key features like profile management, swiping for matches, and communication tools.
Implementing and Fine-Tuning AI Model: Develop and refine an AI-driven recommendation system to provide more accurate roommate suggestions based on user preferences, behavior, and compatibility factors. This will ensure that users are matched with roommates who align with their lifestyle and needs.
Verified Profiles: Introduce a verification process to ensure that profiles on the platform are authentic. This could involve identity verification, social media linking, or other methods to build trust within the community and reduce the chances of fraudulent or misleading profiles.
In-App Communication Tools: Implement robust in-app communication tools that allow users to call or text potential roommates directly within the app.
Compatibility Quiz: Introduce a detailed compatibility quiz that users can take to assess their living habits, preferences, and personalities. The results of this quiz will be used to enhance the AI model’s matching accuracy, providing users with suggestions that the living experience