A brief summary
A brief summary
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This program can find the highest elevation in a given area using Java and the Google Maps API. All the user has to do is select an area and Project Peak will return the highest and lowest point in that area at a 512-point precision.
Why Project Peak?
Why Project Peak?
A few weeks ago, a UGA student wanted to plan out his backpacking trip according to what he could see and how arduous the trip would be. By using Java and the Google Maps API (Application Processing Interface), we were able to turn his idea into reality. Google Cloud and its many tools make it possible for anyone, no matter who they are, to turn their dreams into reality and then share that new reality with the world. New ideas are created every day, and Project Peak is undeniable proof that those ideas and the changes that come with them can be shared with the world through the wonderful gift of Google Cloud.
Reach new heights with Project Peak
Feel a new high with Project Peak
How does Project Peak work?
Project Peak takes 2 optional command line arguments, specifying the size of the search area. By default, the search area is set to 0.01 decimal degrees, as this is the approximate size of a small city. When a user inputs a latitude and longitude (also in decimal degrees), the program populates an array with 512 equidistant coordinate values surrounding the supplied coordinate. Project Peak then queries the Google Cloud Elevation API and receives in response a JSON file including elevation data for all 512 points. This JSON data is processed and the largest and smallest values are found by linear search, and output to the user.
Who is Project Peak for?
Project Peak was really only built for one person, and it will only be useful to a handful of people. Hikers, cyclists, community development projects, and ski resorts could all use it. Google Maps could even pick it up and add it as a feature. But Project Peak wasn't created as a business idea or a profit-producing machine. It was created as a tool to make someone's life more convenient. Some of the greatest ideas in history are brought to life in this manner. Just recently, a man named Josh Worldle created a word game for his girlfriend and it ended up going viral. His game, aptly named "Wordle," brought joy and mental stimulation to millions. The New York Times saw how his game had made its way into the lives of so many, and they bought this simple game from him for several hundred thousand dollars. Just like Wordle, Project Peak was never about the money, but about how it could impact someone's life. Google Cloud made that possible, along with millions of other phenomenal ideas every year.
What did Project Peak teach us?
Going into this project, our team had minimal experience using an API. After careful consideration, we decided to use the Google Elevation API from Google Cloud. We figured out how to input the latitude and longitude of a position into the API and how to get the elevation from that. By using this process, we learned how to call the API and parse the JSON that it returns.
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