Project Proposal
Joshua Cantrell
Von Santos
I would propose that we create an app that will be similar to flash cards where, based on
the direction the device is facing, will reveal the answers to the questions on the flash cards. In
order for the app to work successfully, we will design multiple activities to allow the user to type
in responses where either a voice through the AT&T Voice service will read the typed responses
and then read the answers when the device is filled over, similar to the Magic 8 Ball App. The
app will grade the performance of the user based on the user clicking two sets of buttons that are
linked to actions. The first button would be stated as if the user got the answer correct prior to
reading or hearing the answer from flipping the device over.
The app would include a customized launcher will sound that would distinguish the app
from others when loading on your device that would include the developers’ names. Animation
would be included when the device is flipped and will appear prior to the answer. The animation
would be a brief flash of animation that will display the answer after the device has been flipped.
It is being considered, if time permits, to include the ability to take screenshots and camera shots
and use them for developing the apps which would be shown in a ListView of options or
GridView, depending on the layout preferred. The major issues that would probably result in the
built of this application would be ensuring that the device will properly detect whether the device
is facing up or down without the sensors overreacting. When developing the function of the
Magic 8 Ball, for example, the sensors kept causing the MediaController to become overloaded
and unable to play an audible response as it would play multiple sound files at the same time and
become unstable. I will try to ensure that the same problem does not occur with the development
of this app.
A concern that we would have in developing the application would be getting the images
from the screen shots and camera. What we will plan to do is try to either find a method within
our app to remotely open the Pictures app on the Android device and select then import images
found in the Pictures app. Whenever the user creates a new flash card in our app, they will have
the option to click an import button that will trigger a script to import an image. From the design
we are going with for our project, the topic we will be expanding on will be the camera
interactions and sensors to ensure that our app functions properly with a flip of the device and
every image captured and imported from the camera.
The only platform that our app will be working on will be the Android because every
platform is slightly different and the sensors would not be accessed in the same way, possibly
causing errors if the application ran in other platforms. The project will probably take about 42
hours per team member to design and debug the application. There are two divisions where the
work load will be divided between user interface and the application’s functionality. Under the
user interface division, one team member will develop and test all functions of the app that
respond to the user directly, for example, the code responsible for identifying when the user flips
the device.
The screen flow of the app starts with a splash screen that would include the title of the
app and the names of the developers. After a certain amount of time, the splash screen would
disappear and the main menu will appear with the option to create a new set of flash cards. When
the user selects the option to create a new set of flash cards, the app will go to another screen
where it will have a menu on the top of the screen. The options included on the menu will consist
of a next screen, type text, import, reverse, and review buttons. The next screen button would be
responsible for creating a new flash card that would automatically take position in the sequence
of flash cards and the user will be able to edit the new blank flash card. Selecting the type text
button would allow the user to input text that will be read by the AT&T Voice Simulator. The
import feature would be responsible for grabbing the images found in the Pictures app. The
reverse button would allow the user to see the reverse side of the flash card so that users can
input the answer by importing an image or tapping the type text button. Tapping the reverse
button again would show the front of the flash card again. The review button would cause the
app to immediately start at the first flash card for the purposes of reviewing the set of flash cards
created. We plan on testing the app with a demonstration using another student that will create
three flash cards with one of them being an imported image.