PAS-Auto | Devpost

Inspiration

We were inspired by the complexity of PAS (Partner oriented scanning) and how it was displayed to us but the team from Hotel Dieu Shaver.

What it does

Our application brings the chart used by the HDS team into the technological space by integrating it into a lightweight android application. It scans through the rows in the chart with one tap, highlighting and reading the rows as it goes. With another, it begins to select from columns, still reading aloud. Finally, with the last tap, it adds the character to the message, reading it aloud if the end of a sentence is reached. Useful settings were also added, such as the ability to control the scanning speed, and themes to make it more accessible

How we built it

We built the app entirely in Android Studio, using a Java back-end. We began by creating the chart, and then adding in the most basic scanning functionality (printed to the console). We then moved into animating this scanning by highlighting the rows and cells being referenced. Next, we added a reset button to reset the program if the end of a sentence was reached, or as needed. Later, we implemented text to speech capabilities, and allowed the application to both talk while scanning, and express output. Finally, we added the settings menu and fixed any overlying bugs or tweaks needed to be made.

Challenges we ran into

First, to create elegant animations, a new thread was needed to add delay between sequences, this posed a problem as in Android Studio, you cannot edit the ui from any thread other than the main thread. This was fixed by casting the methods and calls onto the ui thread, to be run. Next, we ran into problems with implementing text to speech in Android API 21+. It was overhauled with new required parameters added, and the documentation available, was for older versions. Eventually we engineered , a fix, after much testing, researching and tweaking.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The biggest thing we're proud of, is making an application to help a large audience of people, in only 24 hours, especially in a field and method that was unknown to us before the competition.

What we learned

We learned how to make Android applications, and the best practices related to them. As well as various different libraries and features that we learned and utilized along the way. (TTS, Animation, etc.)

What's next for PAS-Auto

If given the opportunity, we would like to continue to improve and grow along with the talented individuals over at HDS, and make this application into something that could be considered industry standard.