CampusMaps app helps students navigate campus

Mike Schmidt remembers sitting on campus, looking at maps and trying to figure out where he was.

Now, thanks to a free Android app, he and his brother Ryan Schmidt, a senior majoring in engineering, created, students at USF can now find their way around campus on their cellphones.

“CampusMaps” uses the phone’s GPS to pinpoint the user’s exact location and give directions to their destination based on where they are — either on or off campus.

The brothers first got the idea to create the app at a Windows phone competition a few years ago.

CampusMaps, which currently has the USF, UCF and HCC campuses mapped out and has plans to expand, also has additional features that make the app appealing even to students who know their way around campus.

“One of the cool (features) is that with this button, it brings up all the food locations on campus,” Mike said. “There is also driving directions, like if you are off campus, it will open up Google Maps and give you driving directions.”

Mike said they used a similar code in CampusMaps, as was used in their earlier app, “Find Me Here.”

As of now, the app is only available for Android, but an iPhone version is in progress, and is expected to come out in the next month or two, Ryan said.

“Once it is released for the iPhone, we will constantly be adding schools because of the way we made it, we can add (new information) really fast,” Ryan said. “Also, we want to add somewhere you can put your schedule so that you can actually click on your schedule and it will guide you to your classroom, rather than having to type it in each time.”

The brothers have created a part of the app that allows them to modify the maps quickly in case of new buildings on campuses or building name changes.

Phillip Diaz, a senior majoring in computer engineering, said he uses the app to help him navigate campus and find places to eat. He said the app came in handy when he had difficulty locating a class on the first day of school.

“The first day of class, I noticed on my schedule it said CMC and I didn’t know what that was,” Diaz said. “I figured out it was the old Physics building. The application guides you. It doesn’t just give you a map.”

Diaz said he would recommend this app to students whether they are freshmen or upperclassmen, and said he has recommended the app to other students.

“Someone was in the Engineering Building looking for their room and I told them to download CampusMaps,” he said.

Ryan said he even found assistance through the app as he walked around campus.

“We started with USF because I wanted to use it,” Ryan said. “I actually used it on my first day of class.”

Students interested in downloading the app can do so by visiting the Android App Store on their smartphones.