Return to Resources
nwHacks 2024: Innovation, Collaboration, and the Future of Indoor Mapping
Jan 30, 2024
5 min read
On January 20th and 21st, Mappedin had the honor of sponsoring nwHacks 2024, Western Canada's largest 24-hour hackathon, at the University of British Columbia. Over the weekend, we witnessed an explosion of creativity, innovation, and collaboration between 743 participants and 176 projects.
A map was specifically created for the event for students to both navigate and utilize for their projects. Check out the Life Sciences Institute!
💫 Fostering Innovation
Empowering participants to integrate indoor mapping technologies into their projects, Mappedin mentors were there to educate and provide useful resources such as documentation and live workshops. Our on-site and online devs collaborated with participants at all hours, offering guidance and insights, bridging the gap between emerging talent and industry expertise.
Being on-site means being close to the action! It was invigorating to talk and mentor such passionate students. The variety of projects utilizing Mappedin's SDK was mind-blowing. This event was a testament to the incredible potential of indoor mapping technology and the bright minds that will drive its future.
🏆 Winner Spotlights
The hackathon saw some remarkable projects. Over twenty projects were submitted to us, but three teams truly stood out with their innovative use of indoor mapping technology.
BookTrail (1st Place)
Ever looked for a "BF637.S8 C68 2020" in the library? Make your experience easier with your own library navigator: BookTrail.
BookTrail is a library assistant application designed to transform the experience of finding books in libraries. The team built the app using a combination of Tailwind, Next.js, Node.js, Auth0, Open Library, MongoDB, and Mappedin SDK. It features a user-friendly, mobile-first design that allows readers to search for books, get overviews, and find the exact location of the book on the shelves. One of their main challenges was integrating the Mappedin SDK into their mobile-first design.
They are proud of their accomplishment in developing an intuitive mobile interface and are excited about the potential future enhancements for BookTrail, such as room booking features and social elements to help users discover new books.
BookTrail Project by Jay Park, Cameron Lee, Nicholas Zhang, Edwin Zheng
HushHarmony (2nd Place)
HushHarmony highlighted the untapped potential of indoor mapping in enhancing navigation and safety within indoor spaces. This application empowers users to make informed decisions for their well-being, allowing them to choose quieter environments for study, work, or relaxation.
Their project underlines how indoor mapping can make navigation more accessible and user-friendly and also factors in environmental considerations.
HushHarmony Project by Peyman Zhiani, Katie Sun, George Shramko, Danny Liu
What was your experience like receiving guidance from the Mappedin developers? The success of HushHarmony at nwHacks is largely thanks to the amazing support and mentorship from the developers at Mappedin. Having such guidance was crucial, especially in a fast-paced environment like a hackathon. HushHarmony as a team would like to thank the Mappedin team for their commitment to fostering innovation and growth within the tech community. Their enthusiasm and passion were evident and made nwHacks not only an educational experience but a fun and memorable one!
StudyScout (3rd Place)
StudyScout ingeniously integrates IoT with indoor mapping to enhance the university study experience. By visualizing available study spaces in real-time, the app addresses common challenges faced by students in finding quiet, conducive environments for study. This project not only showcases the practical application of IoT and indoor mapping technologies but also highlights the team's creative problem-solving approach. It's a stellar example of how technology can be leveraged to improve everyday life in educational settings.
StudyScout Project by Steven Xu, Xavier Lam, Patti Tani, Raymond Shen
How do you envision the potential of indoor mapping technology in the near future? Our group brainstormed many different functionalities for this mapping technology such as: integrate AI to create improved navigation systems through large-scale events; helping train personnel for unfamiliar areas beforehand (possibly using VR); emergency responders could explore their target location virtually before arriving on the scene; using concepts of 3-D mapping and heat detection to help with missing persons/other possibly dangerous situations; and any cool game development possibilities.
RoomRival (Runner-Up)
RoomRival drew inspiration from the desire to revolutionize indoor gaming experience: to create an innovative and dynamic platform that transforms ordinary spaces into competitive battlegrounds, bringing people together through technology, strategy, and social interaction while integrating the website with Mappedin SDK. RoomRival is a fast-paced indoor game where players strategically claim rooms using QR codes that correspond to each room, and try to claim as many as possible.
RoomRival Project by Lily Zhang, Kaiser Chen, Jessie Sheng, Brian Moniaga
Thank You
To the nwHacks organizing team, all the participants and hackers, and our submission winners: thank you for making this such a special event. Your passion and ingenuity are what drive us at Mappedin.
For those interested in exploring what you can create with Mappedin indoor mapping technology, dive into our Developer Portal. To stay connected with our community and future events, follow us on LinkedIn.
Want to join the fun? Make a map in minutes! Use a demo map and try out the AI functionality, or upload a floor plan of your nearest library or community centre 😉.
