From the lab

Background

The Prototyping Bootcamp is a semi-annual event in which the whole team engages in what we do best: build prototypes. This time around, we focused on the theme: “Prototyp <3 Open Source”.

Prior to the event, Cykelpiraterna - The Bike Pirates - reached out since they want to make biking even safer in Stockholm and Sweden. Their current solution wasn’t that user-friendly.

Creation

Together with The Bike Pirates, we concluded that a new, improved geotagging tool was very much welcome and could make a significant difference for the users.

First, we had to simplify the info submission process: a location, image, title and description of the dangerous biking spot. The obvious choice for providing the location was to use GPS locationing from the users phone or computer (if allowed). As for the image it could be uploaded using an existing image or by taking a picture if on mobile. Following info could be filled out by the user in text.

These features would result in a geotagging flow that is easy to use while on the go. If a biker sees a dangerous spot they can simply open the geotagging tool, take a picture, provide the name and description and then click submit, resulting in a marker placed at their current location. If they chose to take a picture and submit the spot later they can drag the map marker to the correct location.

As for the tech stack, we went for React with firebase as database. Tailwind was used to quickly achieve responsiveness and the Google Maps API was used for the map.

Findings

Working alone meant that I could make quick decisions, I had complete independence. However, in hindsight it would have been nice to collaborate with others to make even faster progress.

All in all, I was pleased with the end result and managed to get the core features working within a week. It was a fun project to work on and it felt like I was contributing to something that could help make a change for the better.