Software+User-Interface

Yesterday Nadya and I began to discuss things we will need to know to complete the Software User-Interface aspect of the PTM device our class will create. Our beginning list includes:
 * 10/15 **
 * We will need to know the basics of C++ programming
 * We will need to know how to develop the user interface
 * We will need to know how to understand what the program is already saying
 * We will need to know how to change it without harming the rest of the software
 * We need to know what needs to be incorporated into the user interface
 * We need to know the most user-friendly way of displaying the information
 * We need to to understand what Dan Goldberg is working on (mathematics portion of software development) and how our aspects will correspond to his

We also discussed ways of learning what we need to know. These include:
 * Talk to Professors and Students about the basics of C++ ( ex. Carl Sallvaggio, Phil Sallvaggio, ex.)
 * Read textbooks and scholarly articles about designing the user-interface and the possible user-friendly approaches
 * Discuss with other groups within our class about their needs for automation and in the software user-interface
 * Talk to a New Media Marketing or Graphic Design major/professor about design (once we know what we need to incorporate and how to incorporate it)
 * Ask Tom Malsbender and other users about their approach for the user-interface

During our discussion we also talked about possible questions for Mark Mudge, the president of Cultural Heritage Imaging, began to compose our training plans, and began to create a schedule of learning. Our questions can be viewed on the discussion page “Questions for Mark Mudge”. Final Drafts of the training plans can eventually be seen on the page “Training Plans”. Our plan of learning so far (with tentative dates) are,
 * 10/21 - Visit the library and find books about software user-interface, creating the user-interface, and design options.


 * 10/26 - Meet with Carl Sallvaggio, the professor for the Programming for Imaging Science class and discuss the basics of C++ and programming.

No Set Dates -
 * Meet with a New Media Marketing/Graphic Design Professor, or an Imaging Scientist with equivalent knowledge about possibilities for design and user-friendly approaches.
 * Contact Tom Malsbender about his approach for the user-interface of his design

10/19

Today our class met with Mark Mudge, the president of Cultural Heritage Imaging, who has designed multiple PTM systems. Through talking with him and seeing a few of his sample PTMs, I noticed a few aspects that need to be brought into the software user-interface. These are diffuse gain, specular enhancement, light, distance, and color management aspects. Also, when we start to incorporate different wavelengths of light, these values need to be put into the user-interface in the most user-friendly way possible.

10/21 Today the Software User-Interface group and the Software Mathematics groups met with professor Carl Salvaggio. Carl introduced us to LabVIew which is a visual programming language which makes programming for automation and instrument control much easier than other languages. Once the software teams begin to understand how to use this software, we will be able to control our camera(which must have a LabVIEW sensor), lights, and other mechanically timed aspects all through this language. He also talked with us a lot about the type of cameras and lights that we might want to test out or research. Hopefully in the future we will be able to meet with him and his postdoc Brent Bartlett so see an demo of their equipment which is controlled under LabVIEW and to see things that we will most likely be doing in the future!

10/26 Master Plan for Software User-Interface

12/ 7 This past week we started a new quarter and was joined by many new students, 3 of which showed interest in joining the software user-interface group. While all may not stay, they were present at our group meting on Dec. 6th where we discussed how we want to begin work, what we need to do, where everyone's experience level is, and what we might want to do for our equipment survey. I compiled all our ideas into a new Master plan which I will attach below. The possible new group members include Jenna Shorkey, Phoenix Rodden, and Kurt Rose.

12/14 The software group, now consisting of only Maggie Castle, Jenna Shorkey, and Phoenix Rodden, talked with Troy McKay on 12/10 about LabVIEW technology. His information was very helpful, and helped us created a equipment survey on this technology. The powerpoint is included below. We think that this graphical software language is a good option to use for controlling our PTM device because LabVIEW is a leader interface control (which is greatly needed in our project) and will allow us to easily create the user-interface at the same time as the source code which will be extremely helpful to program in our short time frame, and to increase the communication between the two software groups. Currently, our group can program simple mathematical equations, and are beginning to play around with the other possibilities within the language.

1/13

The software group presented this PowerPoint inlcuded below, today during Freshman Imaging Project. LaTex is a document tool that helps create the form as the user creates the content. This tool can help anyone who wants to create professional looking documents. Latex is especially helpful when the user needs to input equations or bibliographies. The User Interface group will meet with the rest of the class to show them how to input images, bibliographies, and equations as well as other content.



BEGINNING USER-INTERFACE



This is a rough draft of what the user-interface will be as designed on LabVIEW. The program tries to reduce all unnecessary user input to decrease the time of production and possibility of mistake. The design is split up into "Setup" and "Create a PTM". This helps the user to understand that the Setup questions must be answered before you can make a PTM. The "Camera Setup" will be worked on more after further communication with the camera group's need. Also, it is unsure if the Image box (which would display each separate image as it is take) will stay put. This is because it might add processing time which would not reflect our goal. We added a progress bar to show the progress of the software and will light up a boolean light once the .PTM file has been saved to the specified location. These components add more user-friendly concepts of the user-interface. We hope to make this user-interface look more pleasing to the eye with colors, sizes of text, more specific diction in the text, and possibly rearranging of icons. This will be worked on again soon in the future.

2/8 Final PTM User-Interface

The special projects group performed an experiment to decide how many light sources were actually necessary to produce a "good" polynomial texture map. Through surveying classmates in the project, we concluded that 23-25 light sources were sufficient, and many more than that actually detracted from the PTM. The structure group decided to use 24 lights because it was easiest to spread them equally over the dome.

3/15: The software user-interface groups' job is now complete for phase I. Maggie and I will now move towards planning our projects' exhibit at Imagine RIT during May.

3/17: The special projects' team met with Bethany Choate and she gave us many ideas for fliers, posters and free merchandise that we could pass out at Imagine RIT. Joyce French also donated many of her imaging science freebies such as backpacks, water bottles, pens, stickers, etc. We are planning out a storyboard for the video that will accompany our presentation booth at Imagine RIT.

4/9 The video that we are creating is a series of three small videos (about 30-60 seconds each) that will be rotated between the three and a fourth which has been previously made by Bethany Choate. These mini videos each have their own small topic to teach viewers about at the Imagine RIT festival. The first is a small video about what PTMs are and how they are created. The second is about the history and uses of PTMs, and the third is about the Freshman Imaging Class and its new innovative philosophy. Each video will be a series of videos and pictures created on an free internet software and then will be incorporated with music and a voiceover by Bethany Choate to ensure fluidity. The voiceovers for the three videos are as follows. **What Are Polynomial Texture Maps?**

Polynomial Texture Maps (or PTMs) are single files that allow users to view an object from an infinite number of light source angles. These files are created first by taking many photographs of a static object from a fixed position, using varying light angles. These individual files are then run through software, which creates a mathematical polynomial to model the luminance values at each pixel in the image. The result is a polynomial texture map which simulates light sources from angles that were, and were not photographed in the beginning files.

**History of PTMs**

Polynomial Texture Maps, or PTMs, were originally created by Tom Malzbender of Hewlett Packard labs in 2001 and are beginning to grow in popularity for research due to their many benefits. PTMs are “adjustable images” that allow the user to view their object from an infinite amount of light angles which makes it easy to unveil previously hidden textures, blemishes, and other important details through shadows. This innovative technology’s uses range from uncovering previously worn down textural information on cultural heritage documents to examining a footprint during an investigation. Also, one of their main benefits is their low cost to construct relative to similar imaging technologies. PTMs are still far away from reaching their full potential as a research tool though. There are possibilities in underwater research, dermatology, and even microscopic imagery!

**The Freshman Imaging Project**

This Freshman Imaging Project class is brand new and sports an innovative and new pedagogy of learning. The class requires no tests, quizzes, or lectures and instead engages its students in hands on experimental learning that requires the students to immerse themselves in the field of Imaging Science and take charge of their learning experience. The classes is designed around the task to understand, design, and construct of PTM machine to display at Imagine RIT. Although originally designed for incoming Imaging Science freshman, this class and its innovative approach to learning has attracted freshman from many others majors and now has 17 students from majors including Game Design, Engineering, Biomedical Photography, and of course Imaging Science. For more information on Polynomial Texture Maps and the work our class has done go to our wiki at ife2010.wikispaces.com

You can view the prezi slideshow videos (not recorded) on prezi.com under the name Margaret Castle and under the titles of "What are Polynomial Texture Maps", "History of PTMs", and "The Freshman Imaging Project".

The fourth previously made video, courtesy of Bethany Choate, can be viewed here, http://www.cis.rit.edu/video

The videos are currently in the process of being recorded, voiced over, music added, and captioned. An update will be given once they are done!

Jenna Shorkey is working on the t-shirts and helping get them designed from a local company called JR designs. A picture of the t-shirt design will be posted once its done. She is also working on creating a pamphlet about polynomial textures maps to be given out to viewers at the festival. We have also received a vertical TV mount that we will adjust to a horizontal mount for a large TV, with the help of structure group, we have for Imagine RIT. The TV will display the videos that we have created. Our display will also include a imaging science table skirt which can be viewed in the lobby of the CIS building along with the screens that are located next to it. This will advertise the center.

Thats all for now, make sure to check out our display at the Imagine RIT festival on May 4th. It is called "Creating Interactive Digital Images: The Dome" and will be located at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center location #106.

4/9


 * Ambient PTM**

The dome that we are using was painted on the inside for the purpose of blocking excess light from exposing the object from alternative angles. We recently proposed the question whether or not was a worthy technique or if ambient lighting would still be a plausible option. To test the theory, Jonathan, Nicolette, and Kurt took a scaled down, unpainted dome and drilled the necessary lighting holes. They generated a simple circuit with the help of Scarlett from the Illumination group to light up a single LED. In one of the optics labs, the three students created a make-shift PTM structure that included mounting the Nikon D50 and photographing a dollar bill by manually moving the single LED from hole to hole. The process was repeated both with the lab light on and off. Images taken from this experiment were run through HP's PTM developing software and polynomial texture maps were created for both.

After reviewing the results and discussing them with the rest of the class, the conclusion was made that painting the dome was the best choice. Ambient lighting caused a lot of light pollution from opposite angles inside the dome. This resulted in a loss of contrast in the texture. Shadows were not optimally represented to demonstrate an uneven surface.

4/22 These are the three imagine RIT videos that I have created to be displayed at the Imagine RIT festival. They will be cycled on the large TV we have along with a fourth that was previously completed by Bethany Choate. Enjoy! media type="file" key="HistoryofPTMs.mov" width="300" height="300"
 * Imagine RIT videos!!!!**

media type="file" key="TheFreshmanImagingProject.mov" width="300" height="300" media type="file" key="WhatArePTMs.mov" width="300" height="300"

Imagine RIT layout. These are all drawn to scale.