Since I'm a little behind the curve, I figured I would throw these up here for some feedback. So here are the three ideas I'm currently bouncing around.
1. An interactive map of water quality in Southern California “I am developing an application for the compilation of water quality, weather and surf conditions in an interactive, easy-to-use map. I hope to use this application to promote public awareness of beach water quality and encourage people to surf and swim in safe and fun locations.”
Pros
1. Possible collaboration with Heal the Bay, Surfrider, and/or Surfline
2. Possible development of an iPhone/iPod Touch application to update current water quality status (see Beach Report Card on Heal the Bay website)
3. Possible incorporation of surf reports and weather conditions
4. Vehicle for educating public (especially surfing population) about beach closures and bacteria limit violations.
5. HUGE potential for daily use and application beyond the IML
6. Practical application and widespread use
Cons
7. Difficulty of learning/applying iPhone SDK software
8. Would require continual (daily) maintenance if it were to continue/be used by the general public
9. Might require a mirror interface on a website in order to make it accessible to non-iPhone users.
2. An interactive map of the rainforest in Costa Rica “I am developing an interactive, easy-to-use map detailing the current status of the rainforests of Costa Rica. Costa Rica is one of the most species-rich locations of plants and animals on the planet, and habitat loss is a constant threat. I hope to educate people on the causes and effects of deforestation in order to promote awareness and increase conservation.”
Pros
1. Could use aerial/satellite images of the rainforest in Costa Rica in the past and present to show the conservation status
2. Could highlight the problem of encroaching banana and pineapple plantations and make the user more aware of the current situation
3. Could provide interesting details and factoids about the species found in certain areas and the ideal habitat size they need – concentrating on threatened or endangered species.
Cons
4. Possible difficulty of obtaining enough data – in the form of maps, GPS points, and species habitat size
5. Possible difficulty of identifying the causes of particular deforestation events (ex: if 1980 there was a huge patch of forest that disappeared in the satellite photo taken in 1985, how do I know what happened to it?)
3. An interactive map of bike racks in the Los Angeles metropolitan area “I am developing an application for the compilation of bike rack locations in the metropolitan Los Angeles area in an interactive, easy-to-use map. I hope to solve the problem of finding safe bicycle parking in LA and encourage commuters to ride bikes.”
Pros
1. Possible collaboration with organizations like LA Bike Paths, LADOT, LA Bicycle Coalition
2. Practical application and widespread use
3. Ability to users to contribute content
4. Personally, when I use my bike to get from Point A to Point B, I worry about where I will safely park my bike while I am at Point B. LADOT and Metro indicate whether bike racks are present or not at major transit centers and rail stations, but I would like to extend bike rack locations to other destinations in metro LA, as well as putting them in an easy to access interactive map form.
Cons
5. Difficulty of learning/applying iPhone SDK software
6. Would require continual maintenance/updates if it were to continue/be used by the general public
7. Would probably require creation of a mirror interface on a website in order to make it accessible to non-iPhone users
