2013 IT Innovation Contest

A team-based contest for creative IT solutions

UCSF Maps: A new mobile website and web service

Proposal Status: 

Description:

To create a mobile friendly website that has data for all UCSF buildings, by campus, and with all the peculiar names by which the buildings are known.  For example, a building can be known as “MCB”, “1855 Folsom”, or “Mission Center Building”. The map website will allow one to generate useful directions to a building from anywhere. This website will also allow other UCSF applications to use a simple application programming interface (API) to access geographic data.

Deliverable:

A mobile friendly website with a standard API webservice (most likely JSON), that will allow both use as a website and as a repository of UCSF specific geographic information. This will build on the work now being used on www.ucsf.edu as "UCSF: Committed to the City"  http://www.ucsf.edu/news/community.

In this phase, all UCSF buildings and their common aliases will be added to a web based geographic information system (GIS) using Leaflet to display. The data will also be available for other UCSF applications to consume via some common API.

Impact:

Since UCSF has many campuses, it can often be difficult to know exactly how to find someone at UCSF. A location can have many common names. Having a mobile web interface to the map would help faculty, patients, students and staff to better navigate UCSF. It could eventually by integrated to both the UCSF Directory and shuttle application to provide real time directions from one’s current location to an office or appointment on campus.

Imagine looking up a colleague via the UCSF directory and then having your phone give you directions to their location. It could even be integrated with the UCSF shuttle schedule to tell you where to catch the next UCSF shuttle to the colleague’s location.

This should save time and the frustration of getting lost moving between our locations dispersed over much of San Francisco

Team Members:

John Kealy- Project Manager and Lead Programmer
Richard Baker- Programmer - Drupal and GIS specialist
Richard Trott – Programmer – Mobile and API specialist

Estimated Time Devoted by Each Team Member:

John Kealy – 20 hours
Richard Baker – 20 Hours
Richard Trott – 20 hours

Comments

I would find this extremely useful. Even after 13 years at the university, I get a little turned around about where a meeting room is on different campuses, and would love a mobile-friendly application to help navigate. I really like that it will be integrated back into the shuttle schedule, making a one-stop for all my cross-campus needs.

This is a great idea!  I would use it and so would the Department faculty, staff, residents and students.

Selected comments from Reviewers:

Tough decision, was a front runner proposal; would be good to look at Wayfinding solution institutionally, potential to extend that offering

Commenting is closed.