Since expanding the UI/UX team at University of Liverpool I've been able to hand over some design work to other team members, and spend a bit more time working on front end tech again - the first product of which is this great little web app we've just launched to help students find available PC workstations.
It's publicly available at http://pcseats.liv.ac.uk - so give it a try!
The interface design was done by my colleague Matt Smith, while I was able to get stuck into the latest version of the Google Maps API and dust off my JavaScript skills to build the interactive features.
By parsing a json feed of PC workstation status, building opening hours, hardware configuration, and GPS co-ordinates, we're able to show users their nearest avilable PC centres as a proximity-ordered list, how long they're open for, and also plot distance and travelling time from their current location, all thanks to the Google directions service and distance matrix.
It's been a big hit with students, and proved especially useful during exam season, when the library PC workstations are over subscribed, but often students don't know where else on campus to find computer rooms.
Proximity-ordered list of PC centres, showing machine availability, room availability/bookings and distance.
PC centre details, with expanded opening hours info, bookings, room layout, routing information and room layout.
Splash screen.
Filtering options.
