Yesterday concludes the final chapter of our project: Singapore River.

For those who do not know what it is, it is an iPhone app that brings the user on the Singapore River trail and at the same time, showcases information and content in an interactive manner. You can check out the demo video done by Joshua over here. Kudos to Joshua for working on it :)

It was a bumpy ride for this assignment. We started off with what was left behind by the previous team who worked on the web app. Initially, there wasn't much direction as to what we wanted the app to be, but we agreed to continue building on it. A list of to-dos was collated and the developers went on to improve the system.

It was until we met up with Prof. Ben that we started to think about what our vision for the app would be. Suggestions then started to flow in - guided audio tours, mini-games, etc. We decided to head down to Singapore River (heeding Prof. Ben's advice) and experience for ourselves the problem we are trying to solve in our app. While we brainstormed on what features we wanted to implement, we were somewhat restricted by the limited capabilities of a web app. It was only then that we decided to work on a native app and as they say, the rest is history.

To be honest, I took a huge gamble when I proposed to the team that we should develop natively. First and foremost, we did not have any experienced iOS programmers. And lastly, we had to discard what we have and start from scratch. I replayed the numerous possible outcomes and scenarios in my head, and in the end, I decided to give it a shot. Looking back, I am still unsure what made me take the plunge.

Perhaps it is the same sudden rush of energy and confidence that I had when I chose to take up this module (despite the fact that I'm not doing this to fulfill my course requirements). Perhaps I was still hungover from my experience in Silicon Valley. Perhaps...

It still remains a mystery to me and I'm still trying to figure out how best I can harness it. But I digress.

It was a risky decision and Prof. Ben tried to dissuade us (twice, actually) from doing it. Nevertheless we went ahead and never looked back. Personally, I feel that it is this belief that we have in the team that kept us (at least for me) going despite the numerous setbacks we had after that. It is that day when we chose to take the leap of faith and push our limits. And boy I'm glad we did it.

All these would not have been possible if not for the following people pulling all-nighters.

Zhenling has been nothing short of awesome. She picked up Objective-C from scratch in spite of not having a personal Mac to work with. Moreover, she did this together with her FYP. Remarkable woman indeed.

Joshua has been the ideas guy, coming up with (sometimes wacky) suggestions on how best to improve our app. His digital multimedia skills were put to the test towards the later stages and you can see it for yourself from the demo video posted earlier. I also admire him for displaying such enthusiasm as our mascot during Poster Session Day. You can watch him here.

Kenneth is the unsung hero of the team - tying up the loose ends for the team. He is the guy responsible for delivering the reports and designing the poster. With him around, we can put our mind at ease.

David plays the role of the motivator in the team. Treating us to dinners (from U-town canteen) and bubble teas (from Koi) are just some of the stuff he does to ensure that the engine doesn't stop running. You can also count on him with his (sometimes dark) humour to loosen the tension that we have during our meetings. An indispensable member of the team.

With that, it's back to hitting the books.

P.S. I would be maintaining the blog after this module ends. I find it a good way to gather my thoughts on a particular subject that interests me. Thanks for reading!

EDIT: I meant to say that I took up CS3216 not to fulfill my academic requirements (see comments below). Thanks Joshua for bringing this up!