EcoStride

Overview
leaderboard

Inspiration

Stunned by the daunting statistic of global climate change, we were inspired to tackle the issue of carbon emissions by incentivizing users to walk more and take less fuel-powered modes of transportation.

What it Does

EcoStride rewards you for every step you take. Every thousand steps lead to one newly planted tree. While walking, collect rewards, coupons, and other deals, all in-app to use at local businesses. Additionally, use our AI-assisted "EcoSearch" function to find sustainable local businesses nearby!

Mobile Application (how we built it)

The mobile application (iOS/Android) is built in Flutter using the programming language Dart. For our maps SDK, we utilize Google Cloud Platform’s Google Maps API. For step tracking, we use custom-created algorithms that utilize the devices X, Y, and Z, velocity to label steps, breaks and running. For our AI-assisted sustainable search, we utilize publicly available information fed into an artificial intelligence model that, using various parameters, labels sustainable or unsustainable businesses. As a result, our app is able to recommend several sustainable suggestions for the user, whether it be restaurants, grocery, or department stores. Our backend was made using Google Cloud Platform’s Firebase SDK. We use Firestore, Firebase Analytics, and Firebase Functions. User authentication is handled through “ghost-authentication” and user data is stored within the NoSQL Firestore to enable concurrency between mobile and web applications.

Web Application (how we built it)

Along with the app, we also built a complementary web application. The purpose of the web application is to display the leaderboards among the users, track who has completed the most steps, gamifying the experience of using environmentally friendly transport. To accomplish this part of the project, we used ReactJS to build the front end and connected it to our database hosted on Firebase. It is run concurrently with the mobile application, allowing for steps to be updated in real-time, as our users are actively taking steps to saving the planet. We also added a support button that allows users to sponsor individuals to take more steps, prompting the sponsored users application (concurrent communication between mobile and web applications).

Challenges

Map Engine (3D component, creating efficient algorithms that balanced load to visualize 3D map)
Concurrency (between the website and mobile application)
AI (filtering models and integrating them within the mobile applications)
Pedometer (filtering false positives and ensuring concurrency between database)

Accomplishments

Developing a Solution that addresses Climate Change and the Health of the General Population
Making a visually-appealing application
Implementing the Google Maps API and Firebase
Engaging users through gamifying the experience
Thus, incentivizing more environmentally-friendly means of transportation

Learning Outcomes

We learned the various languages that went into building the application as well as how to connect the front-end with the back end. We also got a better insight into how to design an application in Figma and make components that appeal to every user.