KnowYourRoad

This is a web application that has the potential to save lives, allowing users to view the road they are travelling on in more detail, showing signs of road degradation such as pot holes.

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Inspiration

A problem facing society, that is often complained about, is poor road conditions. There are approximately 42,000 deaths per year caused by poor road conditions in the US alone, according to a study conducted by The Pacific Institute For Research and Evaluation. We wanted to create a solution for this.

What it does

This program shows users an interactive retro map that has markers pinpointed at poor road conditions such as slippery terrain, pot holes, ice patches, etc. It also allows you to click on each marker for further information such as the road condition and the time it was reported. The markers are color coded to indicate the severity of the road condition, warmer colors indicating a worse condition.

How we built it

We built it using flask package for Python, Google Maps API and hosted on AWS so that it can be accessed by anyone on any device.

Challenges we ran into

We struggled getting the data from our python file into the JavaScript file which was the only way we could get the markers to display. This was also the first time that we had worked while applying multiple technologies together. Getting all of our information from one system to the next was one of our weak points but we overcame it.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Our general problem solving abilities shined through during this event and every instance that we fixed a problem made us feel proud. We were also highly communicative and collaborative, which is not always the case with complete strangers working on a task. There were some technical/ technological difficulties that were very satisfying to get over.

What we learned

Huy learned more about some of the general and niche features of Python, JavaScript, and HTML. Mohamed learned about how to use the google maps API and how to make various kinds of codes for it like editing markers based on the data associated with them and how to add layers over the google maps API.

What's next for KnowYourRoad

The data currently implemented it just that for testing the product. Using various sensors found in cars and phones, this web app can be made to be applicable in the real world and represent real data on road conditions that would otherwise be very difficult to obtain.

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