Pause and Paws

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Inspiration

As second year college students, we know how difficult it can be to manage social life, academic life, and family life. With the stress of internship hunting, coursework, and barely finding the time to hang out with friends, we all wish we had a source of comfort that we could turn to, to help take our mind off things. Last month, all 4 of us attended a “Decompress with Dogs” event that was held on campus, and we realized how much fun we had with it. We thought it would be so cool if students had the chance to spend some quality time with dogs during their day, and that’s where our app “Pause and Paws’' originated from. We wanted to partner with animal shelters local to New Brunswick and Rutgers’ Puppy Clubs to allow students to book a one hour time slot to hang out with their furry friends. We thought this would be a meaningful, and energizing experience.

What it does

Pause & Paws is an innovative app designed to provide on-demand mental health breaks for Rutgers students through the companionship of dogs. Users can schedule sessions where they have the opportunity to rent a dog for one hour. During the session, students can engage in activities such as leisurely walks, playing fetch, or simply enjoying the company of their furry companion. The presence of a friendly dog can provide comfort, reduce stress, and promote relaxation, offering users a much-needed mental health break from their daily routine.

How we built it

We first researched ways to help Rutgers students in their daily lives. After researching, we realized that we should make a website that allows students to spend time with dogs as it can provide comfort, reduce stress, and promote relaxation.

Initially, we worked towards using React to connect it to a database for animal shelters and listings of the dogs they cared for. This way, Rutgers students would have live access to shelters where they could book dogs. We were receiving errors in both the front end and back end. After considering the amount of time we had left, we decided to improvise a simpler version of the code on X-Code using Swift. We handled this challenge quite well, as we kept the spirit of our idea intact and created a simpler version of the code after starting it this morning. In our new idea, we first needed to pick a new programming language and a new platform. As relatively new app developers, we chose to learn how the Swift programming language and how the iOS simulator Xcode works. After learning the basis of our app, we learned how to create different screens and connect them

Challenges we ran into

Initially, we worked towards using React to connect it with a database including animal shelters and listings of the dogs they cared for. This way, Rutgers students would have live access to shelters they could book dogs for. We were receiving errors in both the front end and back end. Specifically, in connecting the backend database to the front end. Taking into consideration the amount of time we had left, we decided to improvise a simpler version of the code. We handled this challenge quite well, as we kept the spirit of our idea intact, and created a simpler version of the code within 3 hours.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of being able to create a user-friendly UI, achieving basic functionality of selecting a time slot with a furry friend, our ability to debug and improvise past conflicts, and finally implement a seamless navigation interface. Being able to learn from each other and work together towards developing a final project that aims to better Rutgers students’ mental health. Though we spent the entire first day of HackRU, completing a project in 2 hours on the day it was due, was what we found the most rewarding and impressive.

What we learned

Although we were not able to implement it, we learned how to connect a backend database to the frontend. As for soft skills, we developed our team-building, and collaboration skills. We learnt how to use React and Swift in parallel in developing the UI/UX, and we started learning how to implement the supabase. The most important thing about participating in a hackathon, is that we are able to take away new technical skills, and we firmly believe that this hackathon gave us the chance to expand our technical knowledge and explore new technologies. Additionally, we gained insights into agile project management methodologies, allowing us to iterate quickly and adapt to changing requirements. Our experience in the hackathon also honed our problem-solving abilities and resilience in overcoming challenges under tight deadlines. We also learned how to create an app from scratch and display a working application. We learned how Swift and Xcode work and how to connect multiple screens on the app.

What's next for Pause and Paws

Additional features we plan to add to Pause & Paws are ratings and reviews of animals from previous users, as well as tips for maximizing the therapeutic benefits of spending time with dogs. We also want to connect students with animals available for adoption, the app encourages pet adoption and supports local shelters and rescue organizations. It’s a win-win situation where users can find comfort and support while giving a deserving dog a chance to find their forever home. User authentication and form validation is something we want to implement so that the information users provide, are valid.