HealthBar

Do you remember how Pokemon GO let people be active and have fun with a game at the same time? We developed HealthBar so that you can get that experience from any game, just connect to our API!

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Inspiration

Recognizing the immersive and motivational power of gaming, we sought to create an application that leverages this influence to encourage individuals to lead more active and healthy lifestyles. When Pokemon Go came out, it garnered massive popularity. By integrating real-world quests and challenges into gaming experiences, we aim to capture the same feeling of immersion by incentivizing physical activity and promoting well-being among users. Our vision is to gamify fitness, providing an engaging platform where users can embark on exciting adventures, earn rewards, and ultimately, transform their health and habits for the better while watching themselves progress in a game.

What it does

Our application serves as a component framework for game developers, empowering them to seamlessly integrate real-world quests and wellness challenges into their software. With our user-friendly endpoints, developers can effortlessly create and manage quests that encourage users to engage in physical activities, social interactions, and educational pursuits. By leveraging Fitbit integration, we provide developers with a means to validate physical fitness challenges, while also accommodating a wide range of wellness tasks. Through real-time tracking and reward mechanisms, our platform incentivizes users to embrace these challenges, fostering personal growth and well-being.

How we built it

Our application was developed through a collaborative effort, utilizing a range of technologies to achieve our goals. Python was primarily used on the backend, employing the FastAPI framework for API creation and MySQL for database management, facilitated by SQLAlchemy. On the frontend, Flutter was chosen for its cross-platform capabilities and user interface design. Integration with Fitbit API and ChatGPT was handled by dedicated team members, focusing on incorporating external services seamlessly into our application. Through careful planning and diligent implementation, we have created a functional and versatile platform for integrating real-world quests and wellness challenges into gaming experiences.

Challenges we ran into

Throughout our development journey, we encountered numerous challenges that tested our resolve and problem-solving skills. One of our major hurdles arose when attempting to set up Python 2 to run an old open-source game in which we integrated our application. Overcoming outdated software required significant troubleshooting and adjustments. Additionally, managing slow upload speeds and transferring files from the cloud to our ChatGPT model proved to be a cumbersome task, exacerbated by poor API documentation and unreliable Wi-Fi connections. Forced to rely on a hotspot for internet access, we grappled with inconsistent connectivity and delayed progress. Due to the poor internet and runaway bugs in our application, we had to switch contexts quite frequently, hindering our ability to establish a cohesive workflow and maintain momentum. Despite these obstacles, our team persevered, leveraging resourcefulness, caffine, and belief in our ideas to overcome each challenge and move closer to our collective vision.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

As we reflect on our hackathon experience, we take pride in the challenges we tackled and the goals we accomplished. For Lawrence, it was a personal achievement to stay focused and engaged throughout the event, especially considering it was their first hackathon. The integration of complex APIs like Fitbit and ChatGPT required hours of trial and error from our group member Finn, but our team's perseverance paid off with accurate and functional solutions. We're also proud of the progress made in writing cleaner and more efficient code, a testament to the practice gained since our last hackathon. Despite the tight timeframe, we remained committed to our ambitious goals and delivered a solution that exceeded expectations.

What we learned

Throughout the hackathon, our team embarked on a journey of discovery and growth, expanding our skill sets and deepening our understanding of various technologies. Lawrence gained invaluable experience in utilizing SQLAlchemy and FastAPI, honing their proficiency in backend development. Delving into older versions of Python and navigating their syntax provided a unique learning opportunity, broadening their knowledge base. Additionally, leveraging the Requests library enabled us to efficiently hit routes in one program, which added a lot of versatility to my programming capabilities. Other team members also embarked on their own learning journeys, Finn gainined expertise in working with different APIs, mastering Flutter, and becoming more adept at the full-stack development process. Furthermore, our exploration into cloud storage through Firebase opened new doors for collaboration and data management for our team member Mckenzie. Overall, the hackathon served as a platform for continuous learning and skill enhancement, equipping us with valuable insights and experiences to carry forward in our future endeavors.

What's next for HealthBar

As we look to the future of HealthBar, our focus remains on expanding the range of wellness goals that games can seamlessly integrate into the user experience. While our current integration with Fitbit provides validation for physical activity, we recognize the importance of encompassing a broader spectrum of wellness dimensions. Therefore, our next step involves leveraging Kendle's API to measure reading activity, paving the way for games to incentivize and track intellectual wellness. Additionally, we're committed to exploring other APIs from apps that help users track various aspects of their wellness, such as meditation or nutrition. By expanding the toolkit available to developers, we aim to usher in a new era of gaming where health and leisure intertwine seamlessly. Our vision is to empower individuals to pursue holistic wellness through gaming experiences, where self-improvement and entertainment become one in the same.

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