Status Report

Week of April 21

I still can't get the drawing or the gesture recognition to work. Right now my code doesn't even compile.

Status Report

Week of April 14

I am still having trouble with Cocoa Drawing and I have also started working on using taps from the user to interact with the map.

Status Report

Week of April 7

I think I can use Cocoa Drawing to show a path on the map. I have been reading through the documentation on the apple developer website, but I have yet to get anything to show up in my app.

Status Report

This week I wrote test code for my implementation of Dijkstra's algorithm and fixed a couple of problems with it. I also continued to work on the UI. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to have an interactive map, because implementing it will be just to complicated for this project. I think instead I will include a map that the user can scroll around an zoom in and out of using code from the apple website. Then I will have a list of rooms that the user can select from. Obviously this is not ideal, but I know I can write this new UI by the end of the semester.

Status Report

I used Dijkstra's algorithm to find the shortest path between points on the map. However, I am still struggling with an actual visual representation of the map. I will be meeting with Mary Glackin either his week or early next week to discuss which map formats would work better for this project.

I have drawn up some potential screenshots of the app's UI:

The first screen the user would see is the map, with tabs along the bottom to switch between floors. There would also be a button along the top to allow the user to take a photo of one of the QR codes and have the app scan it. Once scanned if the code corresponds to a room in the library that room would be selected. In these drawings a selected room has a red dot in the middle of it.

Once a room has been selected, either by scanning a QR code or by the user touching a room on the map, a second room can be selected by touching the map. Bathrooms and exits will be clearly labeled. As soon as a second room is selected directions will be calculated and displayed. There are two possible ways to display the directions. The directions can be read as a list of scrollable instructions or they can be seen displayed on the map.

Clicking the clear map button would return the user to the first view with no rooms selected. The user would be able to scroll around the map and maybe even zoom in and out.

Status Report

I got the app to use a picture saved on the phone as the photo to be scanned. I have used it to successfully scan both linear barcodes and QR matrix barcodes, including one QR code that was in a picture of a billboard. I think it would be a good idea to use QR codes in the library because they can be encoded with sentences or descriptions. For example this one says "Archives and Special Collections (3rd Floor)."

I created it with this QR Code Generator. I also found a map of the library on the LITS website that I can probably use.

Status Report

I installed XCode and the iOS Simulator. Then I worked through an iPhone app tutorial and built a small app as well as looked through its source code. Next, I downloaded ZBar and worked through the tutorial for that too. I got it working, but because the iOS Simulator does not simulate a camera the app does very little, but it was still informative. I am now working on changing it so that it can use a picture already on the "phone". I also looked over the basics of Objective-C.

Milestones/Timeline

February 24 - Set up Xcode, especially iPhone simulator, and ZBar. Learn how to make a simple app and Objective-C basics.

March 3 - Figure out how to build an app on top of ZBar. Find out more about using the barcodes on books to produce a location for the user.

March 10 - Create map of the library and use a code to determine a specific point on the map. Start designing user interface.

March 24 - Code an algorithm to give directions from one point of the library to another. Start visual representation of map.

March 31 - Have a basic (not necessarily pretty) map of the library that can use a barcode to locate someone in the library and give directions to another location.

April 7 - Work on user interface and any bugs or problems.

April 14 - Finish user interface and start testing. Continue debugging.

April 21 - Final testing and finishing touches

Pitch Document

pitch document

Startup Activity

• This technology is pretty developed and there are cars being sold today that are able to parallel park on their own. A gradual shift to autonomous cars has already begun.


• The car figures out the best way to turn around when it needs to and therefore is more efficient than a human driver.


• Once autonomous cars are ready to be sold commercially they will probably cut down on driving accidents because the car could react faster than a person, can see more than a person, and could not drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.