- Creation date: 2015
- Technologies: Android (Java) + Realm + Retrofit + Google Maps API + PHP for the REST API + PHP & AWS Lambda for the PUSH notifications
As my Honours Project in the University of the West of Scotland, I decided to create a carpooling app that would allow users to share their cars on their daily commutes. The idea was that you would introduce your route and schedule and the app would find compatible passengers or drivers.
Apart from having a robust matching algorithm, the app included PUSH notifications, local storage that would allow it to work without internet connection (for the most part), a login system connected to Google Plus, a smooth integration with Google Maps, and more. The REST API was developed using PHP and MySQL, and the backend needed to handle PUSH notifications was a combination of AWS Lambdas and PHP code.
This project was chosen as the best one of the year by the university. Consequently, the university selected me as their candidate for the national Scottish contest "Young Software Engineer of the Year", where I ended up being a finalist. The app also won the award "Best Emerging Web & Mobile Project" in the event "Digital Futures". And it even helped me land my first professional job!
In addition to the Android app, I created a landing page for the project, as I intended to continue its development in order to release it. Unfortunately, I eventually gave up on the idea of publishing this app because it wasn't really feasible or reasonable, and the landing website I created to promote it is now entirely lost. But I swear it looked nice – at least, that's what I'd like to think (just believe me).
