Website/App Designer at Rowan University Launches His Own Weather Machine
Meet Steven Warner, a senior computer science major from Marlton, NJ (Burlington County). Steven designed an app called Warner Weather and released a website as well.
Can you tell us more about the app that you have been developing?
“The app that I am working on developing is a weather machine called Warner Weather. Traditionally, weather machines use weather towers to get localized information from different parts of the county you live in. My app uses localized data from where you are. You take a picture of the sky above you and it fills in the blanks to give a weather pattern for your area. The app also has an indoor mode and outdoor mode, and gives more refined results if you take two pictures a day.”
What sparked your ideas for this app?
“This actually started out as a small test to learn how certain algorithms work in AI. It shows you how to take a data set and make inferences based off of the data set that you are given. I needed a data set that I could generate to see if this could work properly. I started to keep track of weather data so I could load it into the app.”
What steps did you take to develop your app?
“Originally, it did not involve pictures. It only worked for the next six hours and would work in increments of three. It took multiple models to get to where it is today. I fine-tuned it and released it in the Play Store, so people can get the weather for the next seven days, rather than just a few hours.”
What is one benefit of your app Warner Weather?
“What is cool about my app is that it works with specific data to give more refined details, based on the area that you are in.”
Can you tell us about the website you are creating?
“My website was released four months ago. It uses different algorithms compared to ChatGBT. You type in all of the body paragraphs, hit submit, and it summarizes everything that is given through processing.”
This actually started out as a small test to learn how certain algorithms work in AI.
To create your website, what kind of software did you use?
“I used a website called Blogger, which helps with template creation for a website. The coding was done all by me through JavaScript, HDML, and CSS. To write the code, I took machine models and algorithms and used variables which help to figure what is important and not when dissecting a paper. To train this, I used my personal essays from classes at Rowan to test my website’s functionality. Through that, I tweaked the variable of importance in the essays to produce a stronger accuracy. Then, I used manual training to see it work live and in real-time.”
Did you receive any help from other people, or are you doing this on your own?
“I did all of this independently. Initially, I kept it to myself, then expanded it to people in my house. My younger sister helped me test it out. It took a lot of reading to understand the programming. I also tested this on Wikipedia so it could handle a wide variety of articles. I would have to write the code correctly and let the computer do its thing. If it was incorrect, I would have to repeat the process.”
What is your favorite part about the computer science major?
“I like a good puzzle and problem solving to get systems to work. Dr. Frank Fiedler and Dr. Ganesh Baliga have been an influential part of my experience here at Rowan.”
How would you inspire other students to go about creating their own website and app?
“Take the time to read about programming, mathematics, marketing, and law. Use that and dive into the Play Store and App store policies. I am working on refining all of these, but I have some ideas for the future. I am planning to scale up and expand on other ideas while continuing this work.”
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Written by: Jordyn Dauter, junior double major in dance & elementary education