When we launched our latest Mappedin SDK, it landed in the laps of many audiences throughout our developer community, including students who love to hack together different tech and ideas. Here is a student team's journey from solving coffee line problems to mapping an entire event venue with creative thinking, lots of tinkering, and Mappedin.
Introduction to the team and project
Mappedin: Hello! Can you introduce the FlockFindr team?
FlockFindr: Hi! We're a trio of first-year software engineering students from the University of Waterloo! Our team consists of Leonardo Montes Quiliche from Lima, Peru, along with Tanmay Shah from Calgary, and Naman Biyani from Ottawa. We actually found each other during our first week of classes, bonding over being new to the Greater Toronto Area. What brings us together is our shared passion for finding creative solutions to everyday problems!
F: It all started with something super relatable: trying to avoid those frustratingly long lines at our campus Tim Horton's (coffee shop for those not familiar!)
We were tired of wasting precious study time standing in queues that we could have avoided with better timing. Initially, we thought about using cameras to track headcounts, but privacy concerns pushed us toward a more respectful solution: measuring Bluetooth signal strength from nearby devices!
Using path loss models, we developed a system that calculates the approximate distance between our detection device (a Raspberry Pi or laptop) and surrounding Bluetooth signals from phones, laptops, smartwatches – we even picked up a MetaQuest headset once! This created a real-time visualization of foot traffic that's both functional and privacy-conscious.
We implemented this at the Student Life Center (SLC) Tim Horton’s for the University of Waterloo's GeeseHacks Hackathon, displaying people waiting in line as geese (our signature touch!), which generated over 100,000 impressions online and caught the attention of the Spur Innovation Center, who provided funding to develop our project further.
Taking Flight at Symposium
M: How did your project scale up for Socratica's Symposium?
F: When Socratica invited us to present at their 2,500-person Symposium in Waterloo, we were absolutely stoked! But this meant scaling up from a coffee shop to mapping foot traffic across a 106,291 square foot hockey arena – quite the upgrade!
To cover this massive area, we deployed multiple headless Raspberry Pis at booth locations throughout the venue. We also developed a web app for attendees to view real-time foot traffic (still represented as geese, of course!). The most exciting addition was integrating Mappedin to create detailed venue maps showing the stage, seating, bathrooms, and booth locations.
The Mappedin Connection
M: What led you to choose Mappedin for your project?
F: Naman had previously connected with the Mappedin team at Hack the North 2024, where he used Mappedin SDK for another project. The positive experience and excellent support made Mappedin an obvious choice when we needed indoor mapping capabilities for FlockFindr!
M: How was your experience working with the Mappedin SDK as students?
F: Working with Mappedin was a really smooth experience! The SDK is intuitive, easy to grasp and with great React support, which aligned perfectly with our tech stack and helped us hit the ground running.
There was a bit of a learning curve initially, but the Mappedin team's responsiveness made a huge difference – they often answered our questions faster than we expected! One unexpected bonus was how collaborative they were, always seeking our feedback and making us feel like partners rather than just users. That engagement really enhanced our development experience and made it more rewarding.
The technical details
M: Give us the elevator pitch, how does FlockFindr actually work?
F: FlockFindr helps venues understand their foot traffic patterns throughout the day! Here's the cool tech behind it: We measure the Received Signal Strength of Bluetooth devices and use logarithmic path loss modeling to calculate their distance from our detection device. Then we group nearby devices together (accounting for people carrying multiple gadgets) and visualize these groupings as geese on a map. The result? Real-time insights into which areas are bustling and which are quiet.
M: What was your technical setup during Socratica's Symposium?
F: Our biggest concern heading into the event was potential WiFi issues at the venue. While we prepared a demo video just in case, we really wanted to showcase our technology in real-time!
Thankfully, our hotspots worked! We placed Raspberry Pis running our detection code in over 70 booth locations throughout the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Center. Our FlockFindr web app was already hosted for users, so as soon as the Raspberry Pis started detecting devices, attendees could see for themselves which areas were busy and which weren't – all updating every 30 seconds!
Making the most of Mappedin
M: What were your favorite Mappedin features?
F: The AI mapping feature was a huge time-saver! It allowed us to map the entire venue in minutes, while the 3D modeling capabilities helped us create a realistic representation of the space. We placed the stage, seats, and booth locations throughout the hockey arena, and the quick rendering made it possible to constantly update positions as new detections came in every 30 seconds.
M: How did Mappedin help bring the 3D visualization to life?
F: With geese everywhere! One of the coolest capabilities we discovered was the ability to place our own 3D models in the Mappedin viewport. We spent considerable time making our map look exactly like the event space, adding chairs, the stage, and booth tables.
But the star feature was definitely the geese – we generated one goose for every person detected by our Bluetooth model, adding a distinctly Waterloo touch to our project. It transformed what could have been a standard traffic visualization into something memorable and fun.
Lessons and highlights
M: What did you learn through building and deploying FlockFindr?
F: We gained fascinating insights into Bluetooth technology – something that's deeply integrated into our daily lives (just think about how many people listen to music wirelessly every day!), yet isn't often explored beyond its basic functions.
What really excited us was seeing the bridge between software and real-world physics concepts, particularly how signal strength can be leveraged for spatial awareness applications. Combining these technical elements to create a user-centered application that solved a real problem was an incredibly unique and rewarding experience.
M: Any memorable moments during the event?
F: The most rewarding part was seeing people's reactions when they realized they were being represented as geese on our map! Being part of such an innovative event was amazing too – our booth was surrounded by incredible projects, with a go-kart in front and a homemade exoskeleton behind us. The creative energy was absolutely incredible!
Looking ahead
M: Where do you see FlockFindr going from here?
F: You might spot us at your favorite coffee shop or hockey arena soon! We've developed a strong understanding of Bluetooth technology and are excited to keep exploring its possibilities. Whether FlockFindr evolves into a startup or remains a passion project, our goal is to keep innovating and creating cool solutions.
M: What features are you excited to explore next?
F: We're very interested in developing Bluetooth triangulation techniques to pinpoint devices with even greater precision. By combining multiple signal receivers, we could create even more accurate location mapping – opening up exciting new application possibilities.
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Thanks to the FlockFindr team – Leonardo, Tanmay, and Naman – for building a unique app with Mappedin mapping tools and SDK. We appreciate your team sharing feedback and your experience to inspire our community of mapmakers and developers. Learn more about the Mappedin SDK and join the conversation in our Developer Community.
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