CheckMate
Description:
We created a mobile application for students and instructors to redefine lecture attendance. The current iClicker system has downsides for both teachers and students, but these are all addressed with checkmate. Our project is a proof of concept for the possibilities of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) across mobile devices, and we can't wait to expand upon it in the future.
Inspiration:
Students hate iClickers because they're expensive and sometimes hard to remember. Teachers hate iClickers because students just give them to friends. Modern Students are known to carry their phones everywhere, and unwilling to give them to a friend, which makes phones the perfect form of wireless identification.
What it does:
Our project allows teachers to take attendance and seamlessly identify students using Bluetooth Low Energy. Teachers can create classes and students can register for these classes on their mobile app. Teachers can hold lecture and save a list of students that attended for a specific date and students will be notified that they have been marked for attendance. Students have a friends list and will be notified if their friends are attending lecture! The attendance data is saved for the teacher's convenience.
How we built it:
After researching server side and client side options, our team concluded that using Android studio for both server and client would be optimal. We used Bluetooth Low Energy with the GATT protocol.
Challenges we ran into:
1. Finding a well documented and working BLE API for Windows and Mac 2. Working with an ambiguous Android API 3. Traversing the inconsistency of a low power transmission
Accomplishments that we're proud of:
1. Working with a brand new technology (bluetooth) and having a working product. 2. Persevering and working with poorly documented API
What we learned:
We learned about the Generic Attribute Profile and the way BLE devices transfer data back and forth, the difference between BLE and Bluetooth, and we also learned about Android app development.
What's next:
With the power of distributive communication, the possibilities are endless. Our current sights are set on using this technology to personalize smart home appliances depending on who is home.
Built with:
We built this with Android Studio, Java, and Bluetooth Low Energy.
Prizes we're going for:
Blu R2 Plus Smartphones
Grand Prize
$100 Amazon Gift Cards