Looking for something to eat on campus? Georgia Tech Campus Services, in partnership with the Georgia Tech Research Network Operations Center (RNOC), has launched the Tech Eats app on the GT Mobile platform.

Users are shown a list of restaurants sorted by walk distance, which can then be filtered by categories such as which restaurants are currently open, if they deliver, and if they have vegan or vegetarian cuisine. The app also has menus for the majority of the locations.

“We consider Tech Eats a discovery application,” said James Pete, senior director of the Campus Services Information Technology Group. “That is, the application allows users to be aware of what is around them with regards to food options.”

What users won’t see is the behind the scenes development work completed by Campus Services and RNOC to create an authoritative repository of location data, including a self-service user interface. They also built APIs for the mobile application to utilize.

"It was important for GT Dining to be able to quickly and easily update menus, promotions, and even temporary changes in hours of operation. The self-service MVC application serves that role, which allows the API to seamlessly keep the Tech Eats app updated and relevant," said Stephen Garrett, application developer manager, Campus Services Information Technology Group.

The lab staff at RNOC built the front end application and deployed it on GT Mobile, while the Information Technology Group was responsible for the data repository and API building. Both teams leveraged each other’s expertise to come together to launch a new service on campus.

"RNOC and Campus Services have long worked together to enhance the campus experience and are partners in the GT Journey initiative, which aims to make for a more open and accessible campus," said RNOC Research Scientist Siva Jayaraman. GT Journey is an opportunity for all members of the Georgia Tech community to collaborate on applications and solutions that benefit the campus by making campus data available as APIs.

GT Mobile is a web portal, built and maintained by RNOC, for the deployment of web applications. It’s a resource that benefits the Georgia Tech community by providing a place where students, staff, alumni, and faculty can host their applications or services. The web portal is open to the entire Georgia Tech community.