Inspiration
We thought that an app which can algorithmically suggest a home location to minimize weekly travel time, based only on a few user inputs, would be a neat time-saver for people deciding where to live based on a set of frequented locations.
What it does
The NuCasa app allows a user to input up to five locations along with the number of times per week they plan to visit said location, in addition to a preference from 0-100 for the transportation options of driving, bicycling, and walking. Upon user submission the app will calculate the place that minimizes total transportation "cost", factoring in frequency traveled to each place and transportation preference. This is done by applying the Google Maps direction service to obtain route duration to each desired destination from a large grid of potential home locations. After the best option is found in the first grid, the search is repeated on a second, smaller grid centered on the initial best location.
How we built it
We built the app with React.js and the Google Maps API over the period of Nov 21st to Nov 30th, using GitHub for version control.
Challenges we ran into
By far the biggest challenge of the project has been utilization of the Google Maps API. The API was overhauled in early November, and finding good information on its current implementation proved difficult. Eventually, we were able to get the API to work, including its directions, geocoding, and map display tools, but only while using a workaround that reduces ease of use.
What we're proud of
We are proud of our strong communication and use of Git throughout the coding process, which maximized the efficiency of our work.
What we learned
We are happy to have learned about React mechanics, including state management and child to parent information transfer, and to have gained experience deciphering API documentation.
What's next for NuCasa - Where Should I Live?
Ideally, the app would become far more expansive with time, displaying routes to each location and eventually allowing the user to click on any location on the map, see a pop-up score, and see the lengths of each route to their chosen location. Visually overlaying regions with average housing cost or adding cost as a preference could also boost the utility of the tool.
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