Inspiration
It really sucks not being able to access the internet because you don't have a data plan, so we wanted internet on the go using SMS messaging, thereby eliminating data all together. We've targeted our demo towards the health sector allowing people to request and confirm checkups/appointments with their family doctor or physician.
What it does
It allows people to text a phone number with various server side programmable commands and request information or files through their SMS phone plan.
How we built it
We used an asynchronous Node.js server running Express.js, Mongodb and the Twilio API to allow us to send and receive SMS messages to and from the server. Through some parsing of commands server side, we can send information to any phone number given there is a signal.
Challenges we ran into
Since none of us knew Node.js going into this Hackathon, it was challenging for us to become comfortable with the idea of an asynchronous server and how to program a system to act in tandem with it. We ran into many technical issues including the Amazon web hosting service and seamlessly sending and receiving SMS messages from the Node.js server.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Well again, none of us really knew how to use Node.js so the fact that it came out the way it did, we're really proud of that. We love how simple we've made it for the user to be able to interact with the server and get the information that they desire all the while not costing them a single penny. Our system can be used for a whole magnitude of things including even a SMS web internet web browser, but because of time constraints, we chose not to.
What we learned
Hackathons are a lot of fun, but we can all agree that sleep is a vital part to your teams well being. Since it was our first hackathon for each of us, we did not know how important it really was. We've learned what it's like to work with other liked minded individuals on projects and how to manage time and computing power accordingly so that the job gets done.
What's next for Sms Internet Services
From here the possibilities are virtually endless. The Twilio API has allowed us a great deal of freedom and flexibility to create the service we wanted to deliver to the consumer.
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