BaltiWatch

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  Launcher Logo

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  Login Screen

Inspiration

Past improper disposal, leaks, hazardous materials and wastes have resulted in tens of thousands of sites across our country that have contaminated our land, water (ground water and surface water), air (indoor and outdoor). This also happens in our neighborhood, which may even affect the health of our community. As part of the Baltimore community, we want to help with this issue by providing a report platform that makes the handling of trash, biohazards, etc. easier and quicker. Additionally, it helps to get our community involved in neighborhood cleanup by building a reward system.

What it does

BaltiWatch is an Android app that helps the Baltimore community to group up and keep our neighborhood clean. Firstly, users can report trash, biohazards, etc. on our app. Then, BaltiWatch will map and list those hazardous waste cleanup locations, drill down to details about those cleanups and provide related information on the App so that users who are in the neighborhood can help with cleaning up and earn points by completing this activity. Besides, users can also earn points by verifying whether the reported issues have been solved. Finally, users can use these points to redeem different kinds of rewards that potential sponsors provide, such as Google Cloud Credit, Free ticket for FFC Monday dining, priority registration for courses, etc.

How I built it

We built the app using android studio (Java for the backend, xml for the frontend) and used Google's Firebase Firestore to store our data online and Firebase Authentication for user authentication. Additionally, we used git and github for collaboration.

Challenges I ran into

We had a lot of trouble getting started. Setting up our project with Firebase authentication and Firestore for database took the entire first night. Additionally, there were a few select features that took a disproportionately large amount of time. For example, it took us a long time to implement recycler views and Google Maps integration.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

We felt an extreme sense of accomplishment watching eachother complete more and more features and our app become more and more complete. Every new activity created and UI element successfully connected to the firebase backend was a step towards a more complete product that we could show off to judges. What began as an empty screen with a button and 2 texfields that we were struggling to hook up to Firebase authentication eventually became the BaltiWatch that we will present today.

What I learned

We learned a lot about team dynamics and android development during Hop Hacks. In the beginning of the hackathon, we had frequent merge conflicts. However, we had almost none during the second half. Additionally, it took us an entire night to set up firebase authentication and database, but only one day to complete everything else.

What's next for BaltiWatch

The android app we have right now is a small part of a grander plan that we came up with at the beginning of this hackathon. Adding photography to the platform would allow us to gather more useful data about the validity and seriousness of the reports. Additionally, adding machine learning and computer vision to the platform would allow us to analyze the data and find trends and hotspots for littering, biohazards, etc. Finally, a webapp would be useful to present these results to administrators in the government or nonprofits to better optimize their policies and actions for the community.

Built With

• android-studio
• firebase
• firestore
• java