Inspiration
Google Maps can get you from one point to another. But can it get you there in one piece?
What it does
SafeMap is a navigation application that helps pedestrians and car owners avoid high crime areas by visualizing crime data and providing alternative routes.
How we built it
We web scraped crime data from government websites and plotted heat maps that are weighted on the seriousness of the crime. We characterized high-level crimes such as homicides and arson, medium-level crimes such as theft and burglary, and low-level crimes like vandalism. We have set up alerts warning people of danger on their paths. There are icons that show the type of crime that has occurred on your walking path. Additionally, we have a parking mode to help car owners park their cars in relatively safe areas filtered by avoiding car-related crimes.
Challenges we ran into
Using java script for the first time definitely had a huge learning curve for us. Displaying icons of crimes only on the current route being taken was a challenge because it depends on the distance between the location of the crime and the entire path line.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
This app can be run on any personal computer so everyone can keep themselves safe. Starting from no knowledge of JavaScript, we now have a fully functioning application that can help people. With the help of our web scraping Python script, we give real-time crime updates from government websites. User-friendly icons pop up on the navigated path so people can easily recognize the type of crimes on the path they want to take. Our heat maps visualize crime data in general to plan ahead when going into unsafe zones.
What we learned
We learned a multitude of new skills such as web scraping, JavaScript, google maps API and how to work together as a team. We found that we had good communication which enabled us to learn together and become better thinkers. We found that staying calm and persistent in a fast-paced environment works wonders.
What's next for SafeMap
The future of SafeMap is to provide real-time walking alerts while walking so that you can stay safe. In addition, we hope to add the ability for users to customize crime types, time of day, and the recentness of a crime that are pertinent to them.
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