UVic students develop online mapping tool for renters

A couple of students at the University of Victoria have developed a new online mapping tool to help people looking for rental accommodation in the city. Computer Science PhD students Jamie Starke and Lars Grammel built the application for prospective renters to see where a rental property is located in proximity to work, school and transit routes in the city.

“When I was looking to rent a place here, I was frustrated by the amount of time I had to spend talking to property management companies to make sure I was aware of everything on the market,” said Starke. “Then I had to look at a map and sort out whether the location works for me. That’s when I decided to take matters in my own hands and create something that would allow users to do both easily and in one online location.”

The mapping tool was created through UVic’s Chisel group, which stands for Computer Human Interaction Software Engineering Lab. Chisel’s “primary objective is to develop tools that support people in performing complex cognitive tasks.”