Safety is something a lot of us take for granted. We realize that for a lot of people, just getting from one place to another can be dangerous. A simple phone call to a friend or family member can ensure our safety. But what if there's no one to call?
Buddy Finder guarantees that everyone has someone to call. This network allows anyone to match with trustworthy people in close proximity for a simple phone call. Peace of mind is the goal of Buddy Finder. Knowing that someone is aware of where you are and whether or not you've made it home safely gives users confidence to go where they need to go.
The mobile application is built using Expo and React Native. We used Figma for UI design planning before developing as a group with VSCode LiveShare. Firebase is used for user authentication and the database backend. Other React Native libraries, such as React Navigation, are used for the front-end UI. The map preview is implement with the Google Maps API (react-native-maps).
Some challenges we ran into were learning React Native, extensions on VSCode, and Firebase authentication and database. Coming into this we were planning on building a web app, however our idea was more suited towards a mobile device so we took on the challenge. Much of the technology, such as Firebase and Expo, were completely new to our team; even learning how to operate LiveShare came as a bit of a hurdle! User authentication and integrating it with the database was also new for us.
Some accomplishments that we are proud of are being able to finish the project within 36 hours, developing a mobile app with no experience, and constructing a whole mobile application from the bottom up. Going into this hackathon we all had one goal in mind, come out of the hackathon with one finished product, and we hit that goal. Also, coming into this competition some of us have never used React Native, so learning as we were coding was something we were proud of. Lastly, being able to come together as a group of randoms and cooperate smoothly is another aspect of this hackathon that we are proud of.
Throughout this competition we learned the basics of React Native, how to integrate Firebase's authenticator and database, and how to layout a detailed plan and design for us to follow before we begin coding. Also, we learned the importance of time in comparison of the scope of the project. Overall, this whole hackathon was a good experience for each one of us because we were all able to use this competition as a learning experience.
The next steps for BuddyFinder are to add more security to ensure that personal information, like name, location, and email, are not leaked. Add markers to look at the locations of 'Buddies' that you make on the app. Integrating Twilio integration to ensure that users will have someone to talk to at all times. Adding push notifications to be alerted of buddy requests and emergency alerts.