Mobile Computing students design better way for people across the world to stay connected

Staying connected with friends and loved ones while balancing classes, assignments and part-time jobs can be difficult for any student. Imagine how much harder it might be for those whose friends and loved ones live in different time zones or speak different languages.

Honours Bachelor of Computer Science (Mobile Computing) students Elias Alissandratos, Omar Al-Dulaimi and Jacob Collins dedicated their fourth-year capstone project to supporting fellow students who face such challenges, developing a mobile app designed to help people maintain long-distance relationships.

"One of my closest friends is an international student from India, and his mom recently wanted to wish him a happy birthday. But when one person is sleeping while the other person is awake on the opposite side of the world, sometimes the best you can do is a text," Alissandratos says. "It made us think how much cooler it would be to be able to send a personalized letter with photos as well as messages that can be read in your voice."

The iOS app, titled DistantSync, was developed with Swift and Xcode. It features a shared calendar and virtual activity planner that considers time zones when scheduling meetups; secure messaging that includes real-time text and voice translation; an interactive virtual scrapbook for collaborative memory creation; and augmented reality (AR) that simulates the opening of physical letters and adds special effects like fireworks and sparklers.

The project was also the clear winner in Sheridan’s recent Mobile Computing Capstone Showcase, held last month inside the Centre for Applied AI at Trafalgar Campus. A judging team of students, industry partners, faculty and administrators awarded DistantSync with a total of 50 points — 20 more than any other project.

"Seeing the outcome of our work and what others think of our project was so fulfilling and rewarding. We were really proud of what were able to build, and we are really happy with it," says Alissandratos. "Our professor Shalini Singh Jaspal was really great with providing feedback throughout the project, including ideas of things we could add. Her critiques were all valid, and a lot of the features we added were based on her recommendations."

Various challenges the students faced during the project included the integration of AR frameworks that are constantly evolving and improving; automated translation in direct messaging, a feature the team hadn't seen in any other messaging software; and improving security in communication between the app and its back-end database, an issue that was resolved by using Google Cloud-hosted middleware.

"I was delighted to see this team transform their passion, teamwork and exceptional detail into such a meaningful outcome. In a world already saturated with social connectivity applications, it is impressive that these students were able to identify a genuine gap and present a thoughtful, effective solution to bridge it," Jaspal says. "I would be thrilled to see this application go live and fulfil its purpose of connecting loved ones across the barriers of time zones, languages and distance."

Will DistantSync eventually be available for download and use? The students, each of whom have now graduated, say it's too soon to know. "We haven't touched it since we completed the latest version because it was so much work to get it to where it is now," Alissandratos says. "It requires a few more tweaks before it will be eligible for the App Store."

“In a world already saturated with social connectivity applications, it is impressive that these students were able to identify a genuine gap and present a thoughtful, effective solution to bridge it.”

– Honours Bachelor of Computer Science (Mobile Computing) professor Shalini Singh Jaspal

Other top projects in the Mobile Computing Capstone Showcase included Park 'N Go (Zubear Nassimi, Sean Jaeger and Zeeshan Syed) and Calm Canvas (Arianna Foo, Winsome Tang and Julia Rawlinson), which tied for second with 30 points; and Improved My Student Centre (Rachel Alyssa Verasamy, Christian Mackenzie and Michael Werbowy), which was third with 24 points.

“I am immensely proud of the 2025 graduating class of our Mobile Computing degree program,” says program coordinator Magdin Stoica. “From healthcare and urban planning to education and social belonging, every team applied their unique skills and expertise to address impactful issues with meaningful solutions that showcase our graduates’ curiosity, resourcefulness, and readiness not only to launch their careers but also to tackle the complex challenges of our time and begin changing the world around them.”

Sheridan's Honours Bachelor of Computer Science (Mobile Computing) balances theory and practice to deliver an exceptional education in mobile computing, app development, software engineering and wireless technologies. Students have opportunities to engage in applied research with Sheridan's Centre for Applied AI and are also able to showcase their skills through three co-op semesters and a fourth-year capstone project or thesis. Visit the program page to learn more.

Pictured in story are (top image) a screenshot of the DistantSync app and (bottom image) professors Shalini Singh Jaspal (far left) and Magdin Stoica (far right) congratulating capstone showcase winners (from left) Omar Al-Dulaimi, Jacob Collins and Elias Alissandratos.