At ID TECH, we’re always looking ahead – committed not only to advancing payment technology but also to supporting the growth of the industry through community involvement. Recently, we had the opportunity to collaborate with students from the UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences on an exciting Capstone project.
Capstone projects give ICS graduate and undergraduate students the chance to collaborate with organizations on real-world, problem-driven initiatives. These projects not only allow companies to explore new ideas or develop proof-of-concept prototypes but also provide students with valuable hands-on experience and a meaningful step toward their professional growth.
To initiate the Capstone project, ID TECH proposed a project that would create an exciting and challenging hands-on opportunity for students to collaborate as a team to design and develop fully functional demo applications for various industries on the AP6800 – ID TECH’s first Android-based payment device. The AP6800 is a smart, all-in-one payment terminal running on the latest Android OS, ideal for both indoor and outdoor unattended payment environments. As part of the project, students would be responsible for every aspect of the application, from user interface and user experience design to implementing core functionalities such as magstripe, EMV chip, and NFC contactless payments, as well as integrating camera, QR code, and touchscreen technologies.
ID TECH put together a brief pitch video outlining the project’s goals and scope, which led to the formation of a talented team of six students—Brian, Nathan, Ngoc, Santiago, Sanika, and Sofia – who came together as SBN Andronix to take on the challenge.
Throughout their time on the project, the students enjoyed many different aspects of their work, including the development of three unique demo applications, each designed for different vertical markets. “I really enjoyed the creative aspect of each vertical we developed,” said Sunika. “The iterative approach was a great learning experience, as each vertical built upon the previous one, giving us opportunities to refine and improve.”
Brian added, “What I enjoyed most was the progression of the project. Three applications is a lot to tackle given none of us had significant app development experience, but watching each app go from sketches to fully functioning software was extremely rewarding.”
Another highlight for the students was the opportunity to work with the AP6800 and all of the dynamic features that it offers. “It was cool to have access to the documentation of the AP6800 to see what it could do, and then just to have the opportunity to show it off in the way that we like,” said Sofia.
Members of SBN Andronix were new to developing for an Android-based device, but that didn’t stop them from exploring and unlocking the AP6800’s potential. “I really enjoyed the challenge of figuring out creative ways to use the peripherals of the AP6800. It was exciting to take on a task I initially didn’t know how to complete, but the process of solving it alongside such a talented team and a great mentor was always rewarding,” said Santiago.
After months of dedicated effort, the SBN Andronix team successfully developed three demo applications tailored for parking, car wash, and library environments – each showcasing the functionality and multi-payment capabilities of the AP6800. The students then had the opportunity to present their work at UCI’s Fall-Winter Capstone Showcase in March, where they discussed the project, answered questions, and demonstrated their applications running on the AP6800. Additionally, SBN Andronix had the honor of presenting their project during UCI’s Homecoming event. Their work was one of only four projects selected to represent the School of ICS, making it a proud moment for the team.
ID TECH was proud to partner with UC Irvine on this Capstone project, offering students a valuable opportunity to explore the world of payments and gain real-world experience that could shape their future careers in the industry. “Everyone has the experience of interacting with software on a device to carry out a monetary transaction,” said Nathan. “As a result, it was important that we looked towards our own personal experiences in order to design software that was easy to use in a payment user-flow.”
Ngoc added, “It was a really positive experience to work with ID TECH representatives. We really appreciated how responsive and reliable they were throughout our Capstone project – it made us feel comfortable and not afraid to ask questions whenever we needed help.”
This Capstone project was more than just a technical exercise – it was a chance to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world innovation. ID TECH is proud to support the next generation of tech talent and remains committed to fostering growth within both the payments industry and the community.
