8/8/2019 The S.C.I.F.I. Weekly Issue 10

1/3

MICHAEL HILLHardware Designer / Programmer

After doing various tests regardingintegrating Android libraries into Processing,it was decided that it would be more timeefficient to learn how to animate graphics

with Android than struggle with code thatcould potentially have a lot of bugs.

We also looked at integrating aProcessing project into an

Android application. It wasquickly discovered that

Android does not supportsome of the core functionsthat Processing needs. Thismeans that a Processingapplication can be run on

the android with a specialcompiler but cannot beeasily embedded into an

Android application.

Having made the decision of whichdevelopment toolkit to use, we can nowenumerate the specific advantages of usingthe Android SDK:

1. All of the libraries we would have needed

naturally integrate into our program.

2. A simple, efficient, and easy touse menuing system is already in place,

we no longer have to create our own.

3. Bluetooth functionality is now just a fewlines of code away; previously we wouldhave had to figure out how to connectthe Android Bluetooth libraries toProcessing.

4. GPS is almost as simple as Bluetooth.

5.Inherent functions, like the phonesback key work without any specialcode. They are a part of the system and,as such, are built to work withoutadditional programming.

6. We get data management for free. Android has a database library thatmake storing and retrieving data atrivial matter.

This week, our main focus was to get

menus laid out as well as have cleartransitions between two sets of menus.

While Hanika was working on this, I worked on figuring out how to lock theorientation of our application into landscapemode and make it full-screen. These first twotasks were simple single lines of code, so Imoved on to dynamically placing buttons thatcontain a custom layout of images and text.

This is an ongoing process that I hope to

have done by the end of the day Friday.

!

ISSUE 10 WWW.ETC.CMU.EDU/PROJECTS/LM-SCI-FI/ SEPTEMBER 2010

PAGE 1

The S.C.I.F.I. Weekly

This week inside...The S.C.I.F.I. Weekly

Android wins over Processing.....................1

What an inspiring event! ............................2

Advice from first years.................................3

Weekly Check List.......................................3

Android wins over Processing

http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/lm-sci-fi/http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/lm-sci-fi/http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/lm-sci-fi/

8/8/2019 The S.C.I.F.I. Weekly Issue 10

2/3

!

ISSUE 10 WWW.ETC.CMU.EDU/PROJECTS/LM-SCI-FI/ SEPTEMBER 2010

PAGE 2

The S.C.I.F.I. Weekly

JAMES DOUGHTYDesigner

While Lockheed Martin wouldntnecessarily be a name that comes up on thetopic of location-based entertainment, TeamS.C.I.F.I. nonetheless had a great night

discussing our project(s) with and takinginspiration from guests of the ThemedEntertainment Association mixer on

Thursday, October 28th at the ETC.

Among the visitors to the project room was Joel Berez of Electrosonics, who waskeen to hear all about the Arrow of Apollo

navigation system, and even offered thesuggestion of an alternate device one that

would guide the user by sound rather thansight. Using head mounted speakers orearbuds, an audible signal could be used tobeckon the wearer to proceed in the

direction from which the sound seems to becoming from. The user would simply followthe sound, which would eventually lead him/her to their destination. We found thisconcept extremely exciting, and areconsidering creating such a device if timepermits. According to teammate MichaelHill, its something that would be very do-able as a bonus gadget.

Another enthusiastic visitor was ClaraPhillips of the Create Lab RoboticsInstitute, whose current project, Body

Track, sounds very much in line with TeamS.C.I.F.I.s DRADIS application, whereinthe bodily statistics of the wearer aremonitored and communicated via anelectronic device . Our team hopes toexchange useful information and research

with Clara over the coming weeks.

What an inspiring event!ETC/TEA Mixer

Team S.C.I.F.I. is refining and visualizing user flow chart for software development.

http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/lm-sci-fi/http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/lm-sci-fi/http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/lm-sci-fi/

8/8/2019 The S.C.I.F.I. Weekly Issue 10

3/3

ISSUE 10 WWW.ETC.CMU.EDU/PROJECTS/LM-SCI-FI/ SEPTEMBER 2010

PAGE 3

W E E K L Y C H E C K L I S TLast week Next week

While the team is working with a laserpointer for the Arrow of Apollo, the issue isabout how they can make the dot on theground larger and brighter. With this questionin mind, the team invited David Francus tospeak with us about using lasers in practical

applications as well as lasersafety. David is a 1st yearstudent at the ETC who hasmore than 2 years ofexperience working withlasers. He provided the withteam with very helpfulinformation as well as a fewnew insights. The following is a summation of the meeting:

Lasers have classes as seen in the table above; they are relatively safe

up until 50mw.

Diffraction grating sheets would work in the place of shape caps.

It will be hard to find wider laser pointers because, typically, a

narrower beam is more desirable.

Mechanically, it would be easier to attach a small mirror and rotate itthan to rotate the laser pointer.

Making the laser pointer blink will make it easier to spot.

As an effort to weigh between Processing IDE andAndroid IDE, the team invited Anton Strenger, anotherbrilliant first year student. Anton has experience of Android application development with Android IDEthat the team was struggling with. He overviewed howthe IDE works and explained methods of debugging. Theproblem was that Android IDE required certain lines of

code to debug even if it is not used, which was not clearlystated in the tutorial.

Upcoming Schedule

November 19, 2010

Due 30s/3m promo video

November 22, 2010

Soft Opening

Due final product

The S.C.I.F.I.

Project Client

(Lockheed Martin)

James F. Burke Jr.

Brad A. Michael

Project Advisors

Shirley Saldamarco

Scott Stevens

Team S.C.I.F.I.

Carlos Sokion Shin

James Doughty

Michael Hill

Hanika Karkhanis

Programming Advisor

John Conomikes

Page Design

Carlos Sokion Shin

The S.C.I.F.I. WeeklyAdvice from first years

Prepare 3-slide project introduction.Start working on 3 minutes promo

video.Decide between Processing and

Android.If we choose Android, we will probably stilluse Processing for graphics, so our goal willbe to run a processing project inside an

Android app.If we choose Processing, we will need to beable to get GPS Data into the program

Finish concept of 3 minute promovideo.Finish the basic user interface layoutfor our software suite.Start user test for user interface onDroid X.Integrate our custom hardware withethe Droid X software.

Class 1 Safe.

Class 1M Safe provided optical

instruments are not

used.

Class 2 Visible lasers. Safe for

accidental exposure (