Making Humboldt Better One Idea at a Time
Ever been hurrying for the bus and wished you knew whether the bus was running late, too? That’s the situation that sparked a new app. “The idea came from one of my co-workers Shane Kelly,” explained Connor Callison a student at Humboldt State University. “We started development that day.”
If the idea is accepted by the local bus companies, you could download an app for your mobile phone that would connect to a site that gathers location data from a gps device installed on each bus. The GPS would send the location of bus to a data base updates every couple seconds. Then you could better plan when you need to leave your house to meet the bus.
Check out the prototype here.
“The software is completely done,” Callison said. He’s approached the Arcata Mad River Transit System and says they are interested but have to look into whether there are conflicts with existing software agreements and other legalities.
You may remember Callison from his Humboldt Challenge. To encourage people to get out and enjoy this beautiful county, he created a site that offers interesting possibilities every month. “To participate in The Humboldt Challenge, complete at least five adventures off the adventure list and take photos at each destination (BE CREATIVE!) Then post your picture with the hashtag #TheHumboldtChallenge” on Instagram or Facebook. Then fill out a quick form on the website to get a small prizes and the satisfaction of discovering our area.
“We’re up to 304 posts on Instagram hashtag,” Callison said proudly. [Check out the enticing photos here.] He admitted that he’s run into a few snags. “I’ve been trying to get any local business to help with t-shirts,” he explained but hasn’t nailed down the prize aspect yet but is working on it.
Callison who says he is a freshman by year but a junior in credits will be graduating next spring. He hopes to do a summer internship in the Bay Area. He hopes to become a software engineer.
His latest idea he is working on with the help of a friend is a parking app for Humboldt State University….Anyone has ever tried to park there after 8 a.m. and before 3 p.m. knows how badly that is needed.
Meanwhile, he continues to come up with new plans. “I probably have too many ideas,” he said. “I am constantly thinking about how to benefit the community.”
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I always wondered why there wasnt something like this avaliable. Especially with the rural busses that cover such long distances. A small delay can be magnified on these long distances. I rode the bus from Fortuna to Garberville for a couple years and would have used this feature daily.
Along the same line of thought, here is a great way to solve the housing crisis http://m.machinedesign.com/blog/bringing-3d-printing-home-actual-homes
Awesome! Good work, We need more people like this 🙂
Excellent idea. Today’s technology is amazing!
The prototype link is dead…
It works for me. It goes to this http://home.callisontech.com/livemap/
Obviously this kid isnt sittin’ around “dabbing” all day.