by The University’s tunnel system ‘Gopher way’ dates back to the 1920s, expanding through decades, the system now serves as a vital yet complex part of campus life
The University of Minnesota’s App Developer’s Club (ADC) is creating an app to help people navigate the gopher way’s tunnels, which are a popular method of navigating the East Bank, West Bank and St. Paul campuses.
Students like Maddy Pehler rely on friends for navigation rather than the directories posted.
“The maps often times seem too confusing so often times I just decide to walk outside,” Pehler states.
Recognizing the conflict as an international student from Brazil. Victor Hofstetter and the team decided to create a solution.
“Gopher tunnels is trying to bridge that gap where people can look up locations, but instead of getting an average route it’s tailored to your needs.”
The team is addressing critical issues such as cell signal, timing efficiency, and route accuracy. The club also hosts workshops at its weekly meetings to equip members, new and old, with the necessary skills for the app’s development.
“The idea of this project was open collaboration so anyone can join. You could walk in whenever you want to and work on tasks you’re assigned to,” Lennon Macharia, the teams director of marketing says.
The club pushes for creative minds of all kinds to join no matter their skill set or background
Tech leader Hofstetter hope others will take interest in the club “Come to our meetings join our discord, we want this to be a learning environment for people to grow as a developer.”
With a launch planned by the beginning of summer, the club is eager for community feedback to refine the app, ensuring it meets the needs of its users.
