Internship
[Aaltra]
2023
During my internship at Aaltra, I worked with another student on a smart mobility app for BeMobile and Mobiliteit Vlaanderen. The goal was to connect users with Belgium’s intelligent traffic-light network through real-time data. Initially, the plan was to develop the app in Swift and Kotlin, but after research and discussions with Aaltra’s team, we switched to Flutter to ensure cross-platform consistency and faster development.
The app centered on three core use cases: 1. Smart crossings: pedestrians and cyclists could request priority and see real-time countdowns for green lights. 2. Safety alerts: users received notifications when an emergency vehicle (ambulance, police, etc.) was approaching. 3. Learning routes: the system remembered frequent travel paths using H3 hexagonal geolocation cells to optimize priority on those routes.
This project was technically complex — combining mobility data, geolocation grids, and live signal control — but it became an invaluable learning experience. We designed the interface, created a friendly mascot to make the app more relatable, and focused on gamification to encourage daily use.
Working at Aaltra taught me more than app development. I learned to adapt quickly, collaborate in a professional setting, and think critically about both user needs and technical feasibility. The internship turned me from a student developer into someone who understands what it means to build for real users and real constraints.