In the Building Cool Projects with Serverless Functions webinar (https://youtu.be/dRwUm_vMFCw), students demonstrate some awesome Serverless based projects that they made using Azure Functions. These students all participated in the Fall 2020 Intro to Serverless Bit Camp, and included a range of talented high school and college students who are dedicated to use coding to change the world.
This partnership with Microsoft was lead by our favorite Developer Advocate and Twitter queen, Chloe Condon. These students worked with experts in the field including Microsoft Project Managers, Anthony Chu and Stefanus Hinardi, and Software Engineer, Ankit Kumar to identify real world problems and develop software solutions using Azure Functions. These projects ranged from serious apps that help track your carbon footprint and make conscious decisions to help save renewable energy to quirky apps that help you decide how to spend you day by tracking weather or even save money while online shopping.
By Emily Chen
Bunnimage is a web-based file-sharing application that allows for easy upload of an image on one device and simple download in the form of a PDF on another. This project, which is essentially a document scanner and file sharing app in one, resolves the nagging issue of incompatible operating systems and alleviates the anxiety of stressed students during this era of online learning.Inspired by the trouble students have when attempting to upload pictures of their test from their phone onto a laptop for grading, Bunnimage utilizes Event Grid Triggers, Blob Storage, HTTP Triggers, and the Online Conversion API to complete the transfer from one device to another, all the while converting from png/jpeg/jpg format to a PDF. First, the user simply enters a unique username and uploads their picture. They are then able to download the picture in PDF format on their desired device by inputting the same string of text previously used to upload the image.
By Evelyn Chin
In 2016 and 2017, more than half of the electricity generation capacity added to the U.S. power grid came from renewable resources. Though reducing our carbon footprint by a significant amount, a new problem emerged with power fluctuations. In the day, generated solar power is at its peak. However, demand for electricity only usually occurs later in the evening, when the sun is down. This dichotomy creates an over-generation of electricity during lower demand hours, and an under-generation with higher demand. This may increase the electrical frequency and risk a disconnect between the power plant and the grid, or decrease the electrical frequency and threaten a power blackout. Flux aims to inform the user of the best times to turn their power on or off. When there is low demand for electricity, Flux will text the user that it is an optimal time to use electricity if necessary. When there is high demand, Flux will text the user that it is best to avoid the use of power at the present moment. By periodically informing the user of the current demand of the grid, Flux can encourage demand flexibility of the power grid, and reduce a user's carbon footprint.
By Ryan Teoh
This webpage will help users find a place to buy an item which they upload an image of. First, a user uploads their image of an item, for example a Cannondale mountain bike. Then, the webpage sends the image to Azure Functions, which acts as the hub for HTTP requests. Using a GET/POST request, Azure Functions then sends the image to Microsoft's Computer Vision API, a machine learning algorithm that scans the image and returns the objects and brands detected. These objects and brands are then used as keywords, and sent to the Amazon Data Service API, which returns various product recommendations the user may be interested in.
By Julia Hocker
Picture this: on a Friday night, a family is planning their Saturday. They want to spend the day outdoors. However, they must check the weather in order to plan. What if it rains? What if it’s windy? After they check the weather, they must decide: what should they plan to do based on the given forecast? What would be the best option given the weather predictions for the following day? This is a simple website solution where users enter their zip code and the Azure function does the rest. The HTTP request sets off an HTTP trigger, which calls for the Azure function to run. The function calls on a weather API, collecting tomorrow’s forecast for the entered zip code. The forecast is then sent back to the website, where it is formatted, and the activity recommendations (such as “Go sailing” or “Read a book in a park”) are generated. The forecast and the recommendations are then displayed on the user’s screen.
By Fardeen Bablu