They say engineering is about solving real-life problems. Even though my degree is in Textile Engineering, a problem-solverโs mindset goes far beyond fabrics and yarns. ๐งต๐ป
A few weeks earlier, I decided to tackle a daily struggle that almost every student at our university knows too well: catching the bus.
โ ๏ธ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ
The official BUFT bus tracking portal was just a long table of 26 different buses. If one student wanted to find a bus heading their way, they had to manually click "VIEW" on a route, load a separate map, check the location, go back, and click the next one. Doing this one by one while rushing out of class or standing in the heat was frustrating, unsustainable, and took way too much time.
๐ก ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
I realized this data could be utilized much more efficiently. So, I built the "BUFT Unified Bus Tracker" ๐๐
Instead of dealing with 26 separate links, I engineered a custom backend that grabs the coordinates of every single bus and plots them onto one unified, real-time interactive map.
Key Features
To make the daily commute completely frictionless, I didn't just stop at combining the maps. I added a few extra features:
- ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ: Bus numbers are embedded directly onto the moving map icons for quick reading.
- ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ : A "Locate Me" button drops a blue dot with a rotating directional beam so you can see exactly which way you are facing relative to the buses.
- ๐๐ฒ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ: The bus icons automatically change color based on their live status (Green for running, Red for stopped, Gray for offline).
- ๐๐ง๐-๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐๐จ: Tap any bus to instantly see the driver's name, phone number, current speed, and how long it has been inactive.
- ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ: Students can easily "Install to Home Screen" for a full-screen, app-like experience without needing the App Store.
๐ ๏ธ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ
Additionally, I introduced a new section for academic workflows. I realized that students faced repetitive hassles with standard university procedures, so I built automation tools to help them out.
- ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ / ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ: No need to stand in line at the photocopy shop. Create a perfectly formatted cover page directly from the website and download it as a PDF instantly.
- ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ: Having trouble understanding the messy UCAM routine? Upload the UCAM routine PDF here, and it will effortlessly convert into a clean, visual, and normal routine!
- ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ: Calculating Expected CGPA according to your target is now much easier with this dedicated tool.
==> Planning to add more tools in the future. I'm always open to unique ideas from the community!