Wash U Doing

Project Overview

Experience has proven that being on-time to class for an 8 a.m. tends to be a major struggle. In addition, walking to and from classes during rainy/snowy days can be a burden. Some students have already schemed routes to avoid tardiness and bad weather conditions, but can never be too sure whether it's truly the most efficient path. Now they can. With WU Walks, Washington University students can map their optimal route from one destination to another. With two settings, one for shortest distance and one for shortest distance outdoors, users can truly minimize any troubles walking on campus. We will demonstrate our project by allowing guest users to use a provided device and input destinations of their choice and watch the app at work. To provide an example, we will input our class schedules to show the shortest path we would travel to go from class to class.

Members

• Kristine Ehlinger, Systems Engineering '20
• Carol Pazos, Systems Engineering, Operations and Supply Chain Management '20
• Dylan Zubata, Systems Engineering, Economics and Strategy '20

Objectives

• Create an app that optimizes the distance it takes to get between destinations on campus and in the Village/South 40.
• Add option to minimize distance walked in outdoors to avoid rain, snow, etc.

Challenges

• All three members have little to no experience with coding.
• Learn how to create a reliable map using ArcGIS software.
• Learn how to create an app using ArcGIS AppStudio.
• Ensuring that app is compatible with iOS software.
• Finding the most efficient way to collect the spatial data of WashU campus and how to represent obstacles like walls, buildings, stairs, etc.
• Creating an algorithm that optimizes the distance from a starting position to a destination
• Enhancing the initial code by adding the optimization of time indoors to avoid walking in poor weather conditions
• Designing the app so that the initial input is based off the phone's GPS location (how to access private information on a cell phone like location)
• Designing how to represent the results from the algorithm (whether it tracks the user's path in real time or just depicts the path)
• (If time permits) Including real-time weather forecast within the app for the user's convenience

Budget

• ArcGIS coding software = $0 (Provided by WashU)
• Device with iOS = $0 (Provided by team members)
• Eclipse Software = $0 (Previously installed in computer)

Gantt Chart