SafeSentry

Main UI
Branding
Issue
Life Saving Features

Inspiration 🔮

When we first heard the theme “social good”, our team immediately began to think of projects we could make to address the challenges that we face. An issue that automatically came to the top of our list, unfortunately, was the issue of gun violence, specifically at schools.

Instead of being entirely focused on our education at school, students like us, have to fear for our own personal safety and security as a result of the rampant rise in school shootings. This issue, combined with the fact that there have not been any technological solutions offered in the real world, inspired us to create SafeSentry.

The idea of being able to help save lives as a result of creating an app that helps against the scourge of gun violence was incredibly inspiring and motivating!

What it does 🤔

SafeSentry is a mobile app that has a wide variety of personal security and safety features that allow high school students to take their own initiative and action towards preventing a possible gun violence threat.

SafeSentry features a log-in/authentication system, where a student can use their student ID # or any applicable information (school email, etc…) to register with our app. After being registered and added to their own school ecosystem, the student has the ability to file evidence-based incident reports in the event of suspicious activity or if they get any information about crimes that take place or will take place. Filing reports can often be painstaking and slow, but our app allows a student to securely file one that can make the difference towards the prevention of a school shooting.

But then, SafeSentry also has an interactive map feature that shows locations of incident reports, safety exits, safety shelters, etc… Having knowledge of these locations can be lifesaving in the event of an actual shooter being on campus. If an actual threat is on campus, and a student is trying to remain concealed or in hiding, they can quickly use our Emergency Aid feature and with a click of a button, alert local authorities. Local Authorities and School Administrators can also use the timeline location feature to track students in times of emergency through their accounts.

Overall, SafeSentry has been equipped with innovative never-before-seen features that can help reduce the casualties in the event of a school shooting or prevent one entirely.

How we built it 🌱

We used Figma to design the UI of the entire app and website. We used Figma's Idea Board and also the Atomic UX Research framework to run user testing and feedback for our interface design. Furthermore, we wrote a formal 10-page business proposal, the text for our landing page, and the demo script. We built components in react native. The programs we used included nextjs, typescript, js, and react native to create the functioning app.

Challenges we ran into 😅

One of the main hurdles we've run into has been the time constraints to finish such a complex design. Our app has a wide variety of pages and features that we needed to design and plan out carefully. Furthermore, our team wanted to create the best interface possible so we challenged ourselves by doing extensive research on different apps we liked and then specifically focused on their interface and how we can improve on it.

On a technical level, we had a lot of very advanced features so our coders had to work night and day, combining multiple languages and skills to fully implement our app.

Another thing was coordinating across different time zones. Our team members were in completely different time zones and getting everyone on the same page in terms of the project was a challenge we overcame.

Accomplishments that we're proud of 📍

Creating and discussing all of the graphics/design options in a limited amount of time was definitely a challenge. We not only built the app design but also built our website as well! Our team proud of making original and creative designs that showcase our product in a very attractive light.

The thing we're most proud of is writing a 10-page formal Business Proposal for SafeSentry. Furthermore, we are very proud of using an entirely new UX Planning Framework (Atomic-UX) and building skills by taking feedback from user-testing and improving SafeSentry’s interface in conjunction with our Graphic Designer, Seeun.

School is in session where we live and all of our teammates also live in a completely different time zone. We are so proud of finishing all the coding in light of these difficult circumstances and being able to organize and budget our time efficiently to get things done!

During the course of this hackathon, our team had other professional and business commitments going on and we're just proud that we were able to balance all our priorities and do our best work. Additionally, we're proud of combining all our previous knowledge to build this technically sophisticated app!

The Team: Besides finishing this project on such a short notice, we are happy that we were able to build something that has a real and positive impact on the world. Not only does SafeSentry protect students from school shootings, but it raises continued awareness surrounding this vital issue.

What we learned 📖

Our graphic designer, Seeun, also learned how to quickly and efficiently build UI at a faster rate, as well as strengthening our planning skills through the use of Figma’s Ideaboard. Our graphic designer also utilized 8-pixel gridding for all UI designs to ensure a strong hierarchy throughout the interface.

Our business lead enjoyed learning how to professionally write and polish a business proposal as well as using the Atomic UI/UX Framework.

What's next for SafeSentry 🧸

SafeSentry seeks to directly explore partnerships with bureaucracy. This includes: school boards, school districts, city councils, federal authorities, local authorities, nonprofits,... By gathering support of these organizations, we can integrate our app with their respective systems.

Furthermore, we plan to expand our app’s security functions even further and possibly having it implemented in locations of public interest besides schools–malls, parks, etc… where crime can happen.

Either way, Team SSIA plans to continue the development of SafeSentry even after this hackathon ends.