November 7, 2009

So some of you might not know, but Maldives is the lowest country in the whole world. It has the lowest altitude above sea level of any country. The islands are only a few feet above sea level, which is part of the reason that Maldives is very concerned about global warming and rising sea levels.

You probably do know that I like being high up. I love climbing and hiking (I also want to take up flying in some form, maybe hang-gliding.) But I can't do those things here. The highest peak here in Malé is actually a 30 foot tall garbage pile which I do plan to run to the top of before we leave.

Anyway! So I have all this pent up desire to be high up, wonder in the wilderness, and get lost. So I decided to channel that energy into something completely different: Software development. I knew I'd want to use my newGoogle phone as a GPS for hiking when I get back, but there weren't any good apps for that. So I started to write one in my spare time.

Shortly after I began, Google announced a developers competition (ADC2), with about $2 million in prize money, the whole deal. So I polished up my little program as best I could in the time I had left (though it's still miles from where I want it to be) and submitted it.

This is the result. TopoDroid (still not sure that I like the name that much) lets you use any image you want as a GPS enabled map, good for hiking and stuff, but also good if you want to use your fancy phone to help you navigate Disney Land.

So all the programs went through a period of public judging, and the first round results were just announced:  TopoDroid has moved on to round two!That means that out of hundreds of programs (not sure exactly, for ADC1 it was about 1700) it's in the top 20 for it's category!

It's so cool to think that people like something I made! Making it this far is really encouraging! Wish me luck! And if you have an Android phone, download the judging application and vote for me!