GPS-based mobile bouldering guide using Android

• Main Author: Yap, Joon Woon
• Other Authors: Althea Liang
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Engineering::Computer science and engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/137916
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Rock climbing is an increasingly popular recreational pursuit. In the past, rock climbers who wish to find routes outdoors had to either have someone who is familiar with the location or use a guidebook to figure out where the boulders are located. Guidebooks tend to be expensive and not cost effective as most climbers who travel to another country to climb will only use these guidebooks once. Furthermore, the current methods for finding beta (method of climbing) of climbing routes at a climb location are unclear as they are vaguely marked out with just a line indicating the route. The mobile application is GPS based and developed for Android devices with location detection capabilities as well as a built-in camera. It is mainly developed using Android Studio and the backend implementation is developed using MySQL. The application allows users to easily locate climbing sites and routes globally through a mobile map and get essential information such as the route difficulty as well as the route-specific climbing holds. The application will be community based and climbing information will be uploaded by users and vetted by users. Location detection will be used to search for nearby climbing locations and routes. Users will be able to comment, rate as well as upload new routes to the application. A contributor can place a pin on the location of the climb on a map which will be saved into the system as a climb location. A contributor can tag climbing routes to the climb location by uploading a photo of a route and mark the photo to show where the handholds and footholds are located. A contributor can also upload the approach directions to the climbing location through tracking of his own movements through a GPS plotting feature. All contributed information will be regulated by an administrator before they are showcased to the rest of the community through a separate web application. Through the project, essential knowledge gained through undergraduate studies as well as previously unexplored facets of software development were put to the test. These include skills such as project management as well as technical skills related to software development.