👴Developed to make life easier for seniors and immunocompromised people during the COVID-19 pandemic. People who need essential items are able to request them from volunteers and have the items delivered by contactless delivery.
You can clone this repository by running git clone https://github.com/rguptavh/SeniorSmiles.git
Make sure you have the latest version of Node.js and have expo-cli installed. Run npm install in the directory where the app is located to download the dependencies. Then run expo start to start the app. You can then use an emulator or scan the QR code on a physical device that has the Expo app installed.
The theme we have chosen to address is the theme of vulnerable populations. Additionally, we wanted to implement machine learning in a useful way. We noticed that 80% of all Covid 19 related deaths in the US came from adults age 65 and over. Also, about 72000 people age 65 and over have died from Covid 19 in the US. The main way that the Covid 19 virus spreads is through contact, and much of this contact is made at essential areas, such as grocery stores. Our idea was a mobile app that helps immuno-compromised people receive essential items in a contact free manner. This app helps Senior Citizens request essential items from volunteers and receive them in a contact free manner to combat danger during these uncertain times. This app includes a map view, chat between volunteer and senior, notifications, and connections between volunteers and seniors to help them coordinate delivery. Our implementation is very simple on the senior end, and it helps motivate on the volunteer end. Seniors are presented with one simple screen which shows the status of their request, and if they are not in the process of a request then they are able to start a request with items and their quantities. Once they submit this is sent to the database and it is then accessible by the volunteers. It shows up on the mapview with the location of the request and if the volunteer accepts it they are given the option to chat with the senior. Finally, the volunteer must deliver the items and end the request. Each milestone along the journey includes a notification that is sent to the respective user. The potential impact can be great with a couple of changes. We will start with coordinating with a local group that is working to solve a similar problem with a similar implementation. The big difference is that their group has no technology to integrate with their solution, and if we work with them we can reach much larger audiences. The biggest change we would like to make is a database change. We would like to transfer to a more secure real time database that can be used with large audiences and is more scalable. This database would also be faster on the user’s end. We believe our app has the capability to change the way items are delivered in this pandemic, and we would like to show it to the world.