The MOTOrift Journey

By Josh Willuhn. July 8, 2020

Where it's at and where we're going

This project started in 2015 as an Arduino project named ridedata.net with an IMU sensor and an SD card to record the data. Eventually I made an app for it and converted that project to use Bluetooth and combined it with GPS logging from the phone it was connected to.

I worked on that project for a solid year or more before having a few realizations. The first major problem was technical in nature. I hate to bore you with the details but Bluetooth is far from perfect.

The next major realization I had was most people would prefer to just use sensors in their phone - if anything - because it's easier. So I more or less sidelined the original Arduino project and killed the app.

But I knew it wasn't killing the app forever. I shared the project on Reddit and got tons of valuable feedback and knew I'd have to make something far better if the app would ever have a chance gaining any traction.

So I planned for a year and eventually started development on the version you can use today. I remade everything and focused on fixing the issues the first versions had.

The graphics are mostly things I made though I didn't make the icon set. I wanted a different look and feel for the app so it didn't feel like another business application.

I do plan to make another Arduino project to work with it. But I thought focusing on the app first would be a better use of my time.

The next major step for MOTOrift is to polish up the features I've developed so far and keep adding new ones.

I know it sounds vague but I'd rather under promise and over deliver.