Students in a software club at ASU are hoping to make cruising around campus a whole lot easier.
Some members of the Software Developer’s Association, or SoDA, are currently developing a computer game to help navigate the Tempe campus.
The game application, “Cruising at ASU,” aims to help students, particularly freshmen, find the most efficient and quickest ways to get around the Tempe campus, said Yinong Chen, the faculty adviser of the club.
The game shows what route a student should go to avoid heavy traffic. Chen said the application could also take into account the student’s mode of travel like walking, biking or riding a scooter.
The cruising software is available on cell phones as well as computers, he said.
Students in SoDA are able to learn a variety of computer and electronic skills that will help them in their future careers. The club is located on the Tempe campus and has grown to more than 600 members, Chen said.
Students participate in developing general software, Chen said. An example would be the C++ practicum component that the club has. C++ software allows the students to participate in both high-level and low-level computer software. Software programs like Java do not have this ability, Chen said.
Members hope to find a national club to sponsor the association, since it is currently only at ASU, he said.
Chen said SoDA was initially called “Windows Interests Group” and was funded by Microsoft until 2004. The name was changed in 2008 by a former club president.
Chen took over the adviser role in 2006 and said members are taught problem-solving skills. He also said that students apply the foundations they learn in classes to build different applications.
“The club is flexible enough to catch the most popular topics and to invite knowledgeable experts to expose the technologies to the students in our classrooms,” Chen said.
Chen said that by developing different applications, the club members are able to learn new computer skills. He said students have developed downloadable apps for mobile devices, which also bring them some income to pay for their tuition.
Jeremy Barr, SoDA vice president and a computer science junior, said that each semester students work on a program. By the end of the semester they each have a completed project, such as an Android app. The app tells students about the ASU activities that are happening nearby, he said.
“Students benefit by getting a project under their belt that they can show to a prospective employer,” Barr said.
Barr said the association’s future goals are to keep programming and provide more speakers to the members.
Travis Sein, SoDA president and a computer science junior, said the organization focuses on helping the club members learn the skills they will need when they leave ASU and enter the career world.
Sein said they meet every Wednesday and usually begin each meeting with a speaker from the industry. However, he said they also allow club members to give their own presentations if they like.
He added that after the presentations they divide into their respective groups and work on a variety of different software projects.
“Most students might not have much knowledge of what will be expected of them once they leave [the] University,” Sein said. “Our organization helps fill in that grey area.”
He said the organization encourages a friendly learning environment. They are always open to new ideas and that much of the club is based off of what the members want, he said.
“By then end of this school year we hope to have a few of our software projects ready for demonstration so that we can show everyone what we’re capable of,” Sein said.
Reach the reporter at khillhou@asu.edu
