Progress Report Due 11/1/15

Progress Report Due 11/1/15

Tasks Accomplished:

This week we have yet to solve our issue of not being able to successfully place the OpenCV code into our XCode Project. We spent both class periods this week trying to do so, but we realize we need to pinpoint the errors and solve them as soon as possible in order to move forward with our project. If we spend too much time on this one error, we will waste too much of our time now and with future errors we may have.

Problems Solved:

We’ve realized it may be in our team’s best interest to not use Mr. Lin’s code from his app and move forward with a similar code we can find elsewhere online, as long as we are allowed to do so. An alternative is to find a sample code online, place it in our XCode Project and if it works, see where it differs from Mr. Lin’s code. Although, we have been able to breakup inserting OpenCV into XCode in steps. This has made it easier for us to identify where our errors are present and target them in a smaller section of code.

Lessons Learned:

Relating back to our “Tasks Accomplished” section, we’ve learned that tackling and solving errors in a timely manner is extremely important. We have spent nearly two weeks on this one error we have been having and need to move forward. If we spend such time on errors we may have in the future, our project will never be created.

New Idea Identified:

Last class, we followed the steps of the “Computer Vision Talks, OpenCV Tutorial to Detect and Track Objects with Mobile Devices,” (http://computer-vision-talks.com/articles/2012-06-23-opencv-tutorial-part-1/). Here, we followed the steps to insert OpenCV code into our project. The tutorial provided code we could copy straight from the tutorial and place in our XCode Project. From this tutorial, we concluded, as similarly stated above, that we should try taking sample codes from tutorials such as these, to at least let XCode build our app, since each building has failed thus far.

Problem:

Difficulties Encountered:

We have encountered unfamiliar errors on XCode that have halted our progress. Typically these errors cannot be fixed through one-step processes. Some of our more frequent errors we’ve encountered in the past week are shown below.

Missing Information:

With regards to XCode, many of our errors revolve around missing files. Therefore, we need to assure all OpenCV files are present in their stated path place, before including them in our code.

Equipments Required:

No new equipment is required for our project thus far. Again, our project is fully computer based aside from tests done on mobile devices in which we can provide.

Materials Missed:

It is becoming increasingly hard to find tutorials as up to date as the XCode update we are working off of. Certain aspects of older XCode versions are included in tutorials we’ve followed that do not pertain to all aspects of our version.

Open Issues:

We are looking into the practicality of our app. We want our app to be easy to use and applicable in daily situations so we want to make sure that the app is useful and functional. In our last progress presentation, there were many questions as to how our app will work and how it is useful and we want to take all those thoughts into consideration to create the best functioning and practical app we can make.

New Risks:

Leslie witnessed an a visually impaired man on the subway within the last few weeks, using a stick to navigate around in a crowded station. This aroused the questions, how will people be able to use their mobile devices to detect signs that may be blocked by other humans? How can one who is visually impaired just wave their phone around in hopes of the phone detecting the right area? We started with a vague concept. Now though, we need to find a medium through which users can point the device and be able to detect the exact object they want to detect. We may have to steer towards using markers as Team 1 is using, that we’d place around subway signs as was suggested at the First Progress Report Meeting.

Show Stopper:

We are still new to Xcode and its many functions and settings so errors in XCode are always a challenge to overcome and can set us back majorly. They are very time consuming. We are unclear of whether the problem is dependent upon XCode’s compatibility with OpenCV code or if the problem relies within the OpenCV Code itself. If the problem is in the code, we may have to use a different image processing library, such as SimpleCV. Although, it is harder to find SimpleCV code online as opposed to OpenCV code.

Plan:

Follow a step by step tutorial of OpenCV. We will start out with simpler codes and then as move up in difficulty.

Create a sketch of our app. It’s time to start pinpointing its exact functions and how we want it to look and how a person will use it. We hope that with a sketch, less people will have questions on our app. We need to steer our focus away from inserting the code and more towards the larger picture, creating the app. If OpenCV continues to halt our project, we will have to choose a different route.