Nitte, Karkala: Gone are the days for the residents of Karkala waiting to get a rickshaw nearby. With technology being the lifeforce to drive our daily needs, this application is bound to create wonders with a tremendous social impact. The students of NMAMIT have launched a unique app called ‘Auto Please’ with a real-time solution that calls out auto-rickshaw drivers in the time of need.
The students of the Computer Science and Engineering Department, Mr. Chintan RK, and Mr. Dwanith U are the brains behind the development and success of the app. The app was mentored by and developed under the guidance of Dr. Venugopala PS, Associate Professor. Dept. of CSE, NMAMIT, with Principal Dr. Niranjan Chiplunkar, Principal, NMAMIT launching the product on a virtual platform. As given in the motto, the students aimed to strive to develop skilled manpower to address social needs.
Unlike other applications, The ‘Auto Please’ app makes it simpler to anybody who uses it. That is to say, the auto-rickshaw drivers are required to register their details in consideration with their identities, such as name, phone number, photograph, vehicle’s registration number, and DL number. What makes this app even more interesting, is the real-time system used for the finest customer service. “The app is designed in a very simplified manner. You select the find button, get the drop-down of the list of the names of the available drivers, in real-time”, says Chintan. With the mechanism of the GPS location that is shared, the app only lists out the drivers available at that time. The app was structured in this way so that it allows the customer and the driver to communicate only when required.
The planning of this app was done in February itself, but due to the current scenario of COVID-19, the team paced to finish the project in three months. During the same time, the team had 3 different trials with the version of the app, where they ensured the adaptability would be easier in all models of cell phones. “The first version turned out bad, but the second one posed a bigger question. Would it be compatible with all cell phones? Accessibility was the first option, and that’s when we came up with the third and final version of the app”, said Chintan. “We knew, Why not use it for welfare? We made sure that it should work at the lowest end. That’s all.”
The main objective of the app was to form a connection between the driver and also the passenger who is waiting for the services that are exchanged together. Being a native and resident from Karkala, Professor Venugopala said, “This problem exists in every place. There are residents away from an auto stand, without the required services, especially those who are of the elderly and residing in remote areas, which is at least 500m to 1km away. We made it as simple as possible, as not all of us could be tech-savvy. The feature is minimal and user-friendly”. The team made sure that this feature would help the uneducated sector and also the ones who can operate a cell phone moderately. This software does not require any complicated procedures, registration, and features of receiving an OTP, or financial transactions online, instead uses the traditional mode of payment between the driver and the passenger. “Click the button, select the auto stand. You are good to go!”
The professor also adds on saying how the lockdown has worsened the situation, with having issues of drivers not being available real-time and how it would be even better if the list of auto drivers were available in a specific auto stand.
The Professor also said that this was a student-oriented project and not even a company as such. The project was developed with no business model, and with only a social initiative. The main motto of the team was not just to let it be a project, but also turn it into a product, given the determined hard work for the development of the app. In other words, to bridge the gap between the distant communication between them.
Some of the milestones for the success of this app was going through numerous testing of the software for errors, using GPS. The team had to go to all rickshaw stands in Karkala. Location issues, software bugs, testing at different auto stands were some of the issues faced by the team. Focusing on the simplest possible way of the usability of this innovation, the professor said “As mentioned earlier, the initial design caused some complications. We overlooked it into the perception of a common man, and decided how it should exactly appear.” They made sure that they reworked on these grounds with further enhancements that can be done, once they receive the response from the users. The team made sure to mold the app and get the changes it requires, accordingly.
In technical terms, the ‘Auto Please’ app was mainly based on Android Programming and Google database, where the data is saved in the server and then linked to the android phone. This made the teamwork at home, given the pandemic, making it much easier as they did not require any special equipment for this project. As Professor Venugopala said, “ The ‘Auto Please’ app is quite simple. It’s a technology for a common man from a common man.” This app is his second launch under his guidance, the first one being an online ‘In-house portal for placements’ developed for the final year students of NMAMIT.
Technology has always been a major part of all our lives. With the right knowledge and ideas of mankind, one can certainly create wonders. As a result, this team was driven by the aim to work for the welfare of the localities, by uplifting some parts of the society using the innovation that technology has to gift us, every day.
