Final Report...

FYPReportFinished

Report is handed in!

Can't believe its done. Finally, it's over with. Wasn't particularly happy with the result as I would have liked to have the project fully working to add in the code but I spoke to Pat and she said that it would be OK to hand it in at the demo to be put into the back of the report. I made a cover and chapter dividers for the report which came out quite nice on the finished product. I'm just hoping the examiners appreciate the little things and are feeling generous.... hmmmm.

FrontCover&Divides

So here's where I'm at...

Ok, got the swf file to display. Turns out it was a really simple error. I was missing a javascript file that is needed to display it. I think I'd been looking at it for so long that I needed to spend some time away from it and look at it with a fresh set of eyes. Anyway, once I got it to display, turned out that there are a few errors with the generated XML which need to be fixed. I'm currently working on that and praying that I get it up and running in some shape or form for the demo. I'll keep you posted.

First Draft of FYP Report

Panic Stations

Everything is a disaster at the moment. Project keeps breaking and refusing to display the Tiltviewer swf file, my research report is much harder to write than initially aticipated. I feel like giving up to be honest but I am willing to keep going for my own sake. May go for a quiet pint tonight to rest my nerves. I think I deserve it. Back to the grind stone tomorrow. Probably not too early....

Holiday-he-hoo!

So today is the forst day of the easter "holidays" and we have so much to do I dont know where to begin. The FYP report is due when we are back. We have a massive java assignment, a CGI assignment and the rest of my Project to finish. Heart failure is not an optiuon, too much to do. I have begun working on the XML generator and have made a good start at it although it's very cunfusing. I think I may have to scrap the javascript which I am currently using to generate the XML code as it seems to be messing up other stuff. My good friend Ian (or the java legend as I like to refer to him) has kindly agreed to give a helping hand on what direction to go with the coding. I shall be buying him a pint or two when this nightmare of a month is over. I'll let you know how I get on.

Report examples

Today I got my hands on a copy of last years FYP report by Jennifer Keane. It's a really nice example of what kind of report is possible given the correct time allocation and effort. Although the project she had taken on was very different to mine, I photocopied it so that I could take some ideas from it for the layout and design. Here's hoping it will be of use to me when i begin to write.

Start of Report

So while I was in college today I bumped into Denise who basically frightened me into thinking about the FYP report, something which couldn't have been further from my mind. Today I read through the detailed brief and set out a plan for how to go about starting it. Hoping to get going on it in the near future. I'll have to wait to get some more of the coding working first though so I actually have something to write about. Fingers and toes crossed...

Under pressure

Really starting to feel the strain now. Everything seems to be hitting a brick wall with regards to the programming. Aspects which were working are now re-broken. Frustrating and upsetting to say the least. Currently looking into ways of generating the xml code from the bits i have done. In for a long week i think!

First view of working AR

Here's the first image of the working augmented reality feature. Now I need to make the images and swap them over from the ones provided.

Augmented Reality.... Demented Idea!

Ok... so this is the part that has been majorly on the back burner for the entire length of the project so far. During the last few days ( and after a few short nervous breakdowns) I decided to look into the situation a bit further. I must say Im incredibly glad I did! Turns out that the route I had planned using the ReacTIVision® software was probably the most difficult I could have chosen. What I had origionally thought was going to be some straight-forward adjustments to code turned out to be a mini nightware. I would have had to create the videos in Flash, learn how to put them into a PD file and then start fiddling about with ports. This would have been fine had it been the only part of my project but I still have quite a vbit to do with the XML side of things so I have had to look for another road to travel.

I have since taken some time to refocus and have found some far more suitable software to use called the ARTag toolkit. This is the same software which is being displayed in the video which I have already displayed on this blog to explain Augmented Reality. I have installed the software and got the images displaying. No I just need to replace the graphics with ones which I have made (or rather have still to make). It's far more realistic in the time frame and it's looking like I will get it finished in time.

Research Report

Also from ages ago but better late than never! My research report. Click on the rectangle thing at the top right for full screen mode.

Powering through!

I appear to have lost my mojo to a certain extent. Not a great time for that I hear you say? You'd be right there! I just seem to be exhausted constantly and really dopey (nothing new there). In the interest of powering through I have bought some Berocca ® and I'll go to bed early to let my brain rest. With any luck I'll wake up a motivated genius.... Nah, i don't believe it either....

Flow Chart

Forgot to add this earlier, it's the flow chart which I made for my presentation. I'll be back with my storyboard as soon as I have it all scanned in.

Praise the lord, it's working!

I am thrilled to say my I've got the first few pages finally working. What a pain in the bum that was! Turns out my code was fine. Timmy the whizz figured out that the problem was actually with my netbeans. It couldn't find my servlet ( even though it was there, in the right place) so Timmy showed me how to connect it manually and then the xml file had to be manually updated. Whew! I owe you a pint Timmy. As it stands now, I have my 'login' and 'register new user' function working. I can't even begin to describe what a relief it is to say that. Now, on to the next step.

Presentation is over :)

I had my prototype presentation today at 12 and all seemed to go ok. It was a pity that I didn't have the login fixed in time but they were pretty understanding about the fact that its a simple, if not rediculously annoying problem and I should figure it out soon. All the code is there to prove it! They seemed pretty pleased with my progress and are now just willing me to get it done in time. Design-wise, pat loves the logo and the general feel so I'm totally chuffed about that. A weight has been lifted ( and replaced with a different one). Now we're into the home stretch. Lord help me....

At Denise's request...

D-day!

Demonstration of our "working prototype" is on Thursday and you can almost taste the panic in the lab. They neglected to tell us that we had to present our work in front of the entire year which is an added pressure, can't say I'm very impressed by the idea. At the moment I'm trying to do the best I can to get as much as possible together for then. Tomorrow I continue with my login and registration WHICH I WILL GET WORKING! (breathe Sarah, breathe). I also must start putting together my storyboard and get my flow chart printed up fo the lecturers. Oh the fun.... Forget biscuits, I'm giving up sleep for lent.

Ugh....

Rag week is over, my head is sore and I have much to do. I am still having trouble with my login. at this stage i'm just fully convinced that Java is having a great big laugh at my expense. It worked fine for my practical but appears to be unwilling to cooperate with me these days. Booooooo!

Aaaawwww yeah...

here's a snap shot of the generated xml. It is displayed in the bottom textbox.

Flyer...

Forgot to chuck this one in with the rest. I'll be back soon with the final batch!

Touchscreen

I brought my touchscreen back into college to give Pat a chance to view what the application would look like. She seemed pretty pleased with how the viewer works with the touchscreen techology (as am I). A step closer it may seem...

Webby type stuff

Here's the first llok at the very rough site I've pulled together in order to link the functionality together. It obviously needs alot more work but hopefully people will see where I'm coming from!


Below is the page which I am using to show where I am with the xml generator. Again very rough (this one particularly so!) bit it's purely for displaying functionality at the moment. You fill in the fields above and then click on generate. The page then displays the generated xml file which is identical to the one which I have to use for the viewer.

New Draft of logo

I had always intended to change the logo as it was somewhat bland before, especially with regards to the font used etc. here's the latest ----------->

Monday morning blues...

After a bit of a panic when thinking about looming dates I decided to take full advantage of my time with Pat this week so that I could have a proper discussion about the direction my project was going. Although I had a good idea of where I wanted to be, it was proving difficult to manage my time effectively in order to get to a stage where I would be happy with what I would have to show at the prototype presentation which is now only three weeks away.

After a lengthy debate (and frustration on both parts!) we seem to have come up with a good plan to see me through the next few weeks which will hopefully see the skeleton of my project come together. Pat has asked me to keep working on my designs so that they don't all pile up so I'm planning to spend a few hours a week for the next while making new flyers, doing a bit of photography and video and stuff I am actually looking forward to doing!

I also must build the basis for my website so that I can add the functionality to it for the presentation. At the moment for this, I'll be worrying about getting it working before I get too bogged down with the look of the site.

Also, Pat has asked for a demo of the touchscreen in action so that she can critique the look of the application before I go any further. So much to do :(

Woops!

Forgot to mention that i will be using my 'log in' and 'create new user' from my java practicals for the user login and registration. Both of these functions are working perfectly for my practical so I'll be implementing these functions in the coming days.

Hard at work...

I am currently working on the generating the xml file for my project. as all data is fed into the viewer via xml, the idea is to allow users to log on to the system and upload their information.

Currently, I have a working html page which takes in the title, description, link url and image from the user. The code then generates an xml output identical to the xml that is needed to feed into the application. My next goal is to get the xml output to save to an external xml file named gallery.xml. Then the first major programming milestaone will be complete.

Didn't think I'd ever get to say that!Things are finally starting to come together in my head....

Not enough hours in the day!

Most of my time at the moment is being taken up with projects for other subjects so my allocated project time has taken a bit of a hit. My java assignment (worth 20% of the year) is due next week and I'm having terrible trouble with it so have had to spend extra time on it. Not the nicest experience of my life so I'm looking forward to having it finished so i can forget about it. The frustration is overwhelming! Next week I plan to make up the extra hours as I'll have most of the big projects that I have hanging over me in by then. Also today I handed up my final project proposal as requested by Pat. One tick off the list at least!

I can see the light...

I've given up on java for the moment as Liz has given me some good advice on how to go about starting the fuctionality using actionscript. I must say it was a pleasant suprise as I'm much more comfortable programming in Flash. There's loads of stuff available to read in the Flash help file so i'll be busy reading for the next few days!

Back with a bang...

It's college time again. Ive spent the holidays designing more flyers and trying to find out what needs to be done to get the technical side of the project off the ground. I'm sorry to say I've not had much luck with it. Liz advised me to fill the xml file externally using java. I've had a look on the internet and can't find any code to get me started. I've found a couple of forums where people have asked how to do it but none of the posts had any replies :( I'll keep you posted on my developments...