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- Chanya (Grace) Thanglerdsumpan
- Iain Chen Li
- Linda Shen
- Nicky Wongchamcharoen
- Salam Karadsheh
What problem is your system trying to solve?
Oftentimes, Penn students send messages in GroupMe chats with over five-hundred students asking if anyone wants to ride to or from the airport together. However, this tactic is often inefficient, since there are many group chats to keep track of and messages often go unread. Due to this, many students end up traveling alone. This problem not only impacts college students, who must pay higher transportation costs, but also negatively affects the environment, due to higher volumes of trips and increased vehicle exhaust.
Therefore, we are creating a platform, Penn Buddy, that will match Penn students who are traveling to similar places around similar times together, making their searches more convenient, organized, and efficient. Penn students will be able to find a ‘travel buddy’ with someone who shares the same interests and hobbies as them, such as food, sports, and entertainment. Not only will individuals have the opportunity to create new friendships at Penn, but they are saving on transportation costs by traveling to and from a desired location together.
Why is it important to solve this problem?
Roughly one-fifth of U.S greenhouse gas emissions stem from vehicle exhaust. With Penn Buddy, students have the opportunity to not only save on transportation costs and create new friendships, but also be a contributor to tackling our world’s larger, most pressing issue of climate change. This sustainable method of transportation will reduce individuals’ carbon footprints and dramatically decrease the harmful emissions that enter our Earth’s atmosphere. Furthermore, Penn Buddy will foster a supportive and safe environment for individuals who do not want to travel alone, and it is also an efficient way for college students to save money.
Who will benefit from solving it?
The entire Penn population will benefit. Not only students, but professors and faculty can all utilize this platform. Given Penn’s diverse population, the demand for traveling is always high, especially during breaks. The Penn population can thus save money and make more valuable (and potentially lifelong) connections by sharing a ride with their travel buddy!
Penn Buddy is a platform designed for Penn students who are traveling alone or looking to meet new people. To join our platform, users will need to verify themselves through their Penn email. This application will resemble a search engine platform where you can input information about your “source” and “destination” as well as the date and time at which you are planning to commute there. For instance, users can insert their flight information to search for and connect with other users who are heading to and from the places around the same time.
We are planning to also expand its functions, such that this platform also connects users through other events like dining together or just any event that users can benefit from having more people join.
Users will also have a profile page where they can write information about themselves: name, age, year, major, as well as venmo handle. We want to incorporate a convenient bill-splitting widget or feature that would allow students to more easily split rides or meals. In addition, to ensure that users do pay their share in the end and display appropriate behaviors; we will also add ratings to their accounts–similar to how Uber has ratings for their drivers and riders.
Nicky: As a computer science and business major, I have had experience with data analytics and project management at a tech company. I believe I can transfer these skills into managing the project, making sure we meet the deadline. Having taken CIS 121 and CIS 320, I am comfortable implementing back-end algorithms and data structures, which will be helpful in implementing the logic behind our application.
Grace: In my free time, I like to explore the intersection of computer science and technology. I am a sophomore, studying computer science and data science; and I am also a member of the creative, web/app development club Penn Spark. Hence, from both inside and outside of the classroom; I have had experiences with programming (mostly in Java) as well as design (Figma). I also have also had some practice playing around with Javascript, HTML, CSS, React, MongoDB, and many more through working on personal projects and with a start-up.
Linda: As a sophomore studying computer science and economics, I want to use the power of technology to solve our world’s current social and environmental issues. My hobbies include teaching, social impact, food photography, and hiking. In the future, I look forward to pursuing a career in software engineering, and I am confident that my past experience in project management for an educational non-profit in addition to my completion of relevant courses like CIS121 will bring our idea for this project to fruition.
Iain: Involved in several web-dev teams on campus, I have github experience and enjoy the process of collaborating with peers to accomplish final projects. This project combines my interests in technology and social impact. Economics is all about optimization, and my econ background makes me keen in optimizing the “story points” of our project. I also finished data structure and algorithms and am comfortable in coding long projects. Currently taking databases and information systems, I look forward to implementing the backend data too.
Salam: As a junior pursuing a bachelor in computer science and a master in data science, I believe that I have the technical proficiency in programming, web development and database management needed to offer valuable contributions to this project. Having completed prior software engineering and product management internships, I have a considerable level of understanding of the stages of building a software system from scratch, mostly through using the Django and .Net frameworks to build web-applications.
Nicky: I hope to gain insights into how the applications are built using agile methodology. Moreover, I have never worked on front-end development using Javascript, React, and other relevant frameworks before. Therefore, I hope to master these tools and skills and be able to take on full-stack development roles in the future. Moreover, I believe that the experience working with a team on real application development is invaluable.
Grace: I want to further explore full stack engineering and create a full-fledged platform that resembles a search engine (or if possible, a social media platform). I have not had a lot of experience working on the back-end yet; so I would like to be able to work on the back-end development part and possibly apply what I will learn (concurrently) in CIS 5450 Big Data Analytics to this application as well. More importantly, I hope to not only gain technical knowledge but also an insight into what working in groups for a full-stack project is like.
Linda: I look forward to working on my first full stack project with driven, like-minded peers, and I know that this experience will strengthen my skills in communication, collaboration, and critical-thinking. Building this software from scratch, I know that I will be enhancing my knowledge in front-end development softwares like React and Javascript, frameworks like Node.js, and putting my prior knowledge in databases to good use—all while creating a platform that has the capabilities to make an impact, environmentally and socially.
Iain: I hope to see our project actually being used! I am one of the people who struggled finding travel buddies (as an international student) sometimes to JFK and Philly’s airport. If I can create something that solves my own problem, it will be amazing. In addition, I also hope to explore full stack development. In the past I’ve only looked at small components (data structures, algorithms), and this class will be the first class I get to know how a project can be built from zero. I believe I can walk out with more industry knowledge, and potentially find out if I’m more interested in the front or back end.
Salam: The holistic nature of this course offers a great balance between depth and breadth, so I am excited to be able to tap into many different technologies and tools while also acquiring a considerable level of proficiency in those tools. I am particularly excited about learning more about React, and gaining some level of proficiency in React Native for mobile development as well. That being said, I look forward to seeing our project come to fruition throughout the semester, especially with a project that seems to solve problems that most Penn students (and especially international students) face.