The beta version of Carco app is in its final development stages, which puts a lot of pressure on our development team. On one hand, we were fixing previously discovered bugs - especially those pertaining to app speed and stability, and on the other hand we were implementing the remaining modules.
In the upcoming build, we will deploy the Emergency Call feature. Once the feature is live, we will test it vigorously, since it is a rather large resource consumer - both on the user’s side as well on our (the server) side. The Emergency Call feature uses live location and trajectory prediction in order to give users correct and real-time information. In order to ensure the data is correct and that it does not overwhelm the user, we will intensively test the feature. When testing, we will closely monitor battery consumption, intervals of server calls, and data transfer.
Additionally, the new app build will be richer for two new modules: notification and announcement module. We’ve implemented the most common notification alerts that users are used to from other messaging apps, but of course we also added some Carco specific ones, which need to be displayed differently than traditional notifications. The announcement module is closely connected to the notification module, since it will be used for important system/app notifications.
The new build will have some subtle design changes on the home screen and in the user profile. User testing showed that vehicle colors aren’t prominent enough, so we tried out some different layouts and element sizes to make color recognition easier for the user. On the user profile we moved towards a graphical naming style: we swapped out text for icons. Additionally, the new build will include an in-depth tutorial, showcasing Carco core features as well as some that are not that obvious at first glance.