By Adam Harris
Staff Writer
Lost on campus? There’s an app for that.
Cypress senior Kyle Martin, an electrical engineering major, developed an application called “Baylor Campus Navigator” to help guide people through campus. The application is free and available for iPhone users in Apple’s App Store.
The application features walking directions, provided through Google Maps, to and from every building on Baylor’s campus. When the app is opened, the navigator uses the customer’s location to provide the quickest route to the building the user is searching for. The app also features several off-campus buildings, including Floyd Casey Stadium and other athletic facilities.
Baylor Campus Navigator also provides a list of student parking areas and includes a “Baylor Tips” section that integrates the social media platform of Twitter. By using the hashtag “#baylortips” in a tweet, students can provide information regarding on-campus events, as well as helpful tips that upperclassmen may want to pass down to new students.
Houston junior Meka Sintim said she knows her way around campus, but found use for another feature of the application.
“The app has a lot of phone numbers that I didn’t know,” Sintim said.
The application features a directory of phone numbers for Baylor services, ranging from the Baylor Police Department to health services at the McLane Student Life Center.
As the application grows, Martin plans to discuss with Baylor ITS the possibility of implementing student schedules, giving students the opportunity to map out their paths for the day.
Martin said he wants to develop the application a little further before implementing it into Android’s “Google Play” market.
Martin said he began developing the app Aug. 3 and “didn’t leave his chair” until the next day. After the application’s development, Martin had to wait for approval from Apple. It was released to the public on Aug. 27.
Martin said due to his own frustration from long hours spent at his computer, he made sure not to frustrate others by making the application user-friendly.
Gathering coordinates for each point of interest, Martin said, was the most difficult part of his process.
Martin has a plan for a “What’s Open?” feature for Baylor Campus Navigator that would allow students to see what campus facilities are open, as well as a countdown for when they close. Students can also use this feature to receive push notifications when their location of interest opens.
Martin’s application marketing website displays the features of his app and can be visited at smore.com/frk6.
