Client
Willow
Organization
NAU
Category
Sustainability
Project Details
ecoWattch is our team’s response to the growing electricity consumption crisis, especially on university campuses. With AI adoption and idle electronics on the rise, NAU alone spends over $15M annually on utilities — a number climbing toward $20M. As students, that affects both our environment and tuition. Traditional awareness campaigns have fallen short. ecoWattch aims to re-engage students through gamification — pitting dorms against each other in streak-based challenges to reduce energy use. With help from our sponsor OP Ravi (Director of Product at Willow), we’ve conceptualized a mobile app that merges data visualization with gamified behavior change. Dorms compete to reduce usage during “Power Hours,” gain leaderboard points, and unlock real-life rewards. Our mission is to make sustainability engaging, competitive, and impactful.
Dev Process & Requirements
ecoWattch’s mobile app is being built as a standalone Android application, designed for efficiency, scalability, and real-time data feedback. Our tech stack includes: Database: AWS RDS MySQL – chosen for its secure, scalable, and fast querying structure. Notifications: Firebase Cloud Messaging – to deliver energy usage alerts, contest updates, and power-hour reminders instantly. Gamification Engine: A custom, lean point-based system that tracks dorm activity and progress, allowing users to earn and redeem rewards. UI/UX: Designed to be intuitive, fast, and engaging — built by and for students. We’re currently working on a functional MVP with core features like authentication, energy visualizations, notifications, and interactive leaderboards. All tech decisions are driven by feasibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness — our priority is a lightweight, powerful app that’s fun to use and encourages real behavior change.