I worked on implementing a barcode scanner for the mobile app and connected the barcode scanner output to the OpenFoodFacts database via their API to get the title of the product. The barcode scanner uses the AV Foundation framework, allowing me to create a ViewController that manages an AVCaptureSession. This allows the user to give permission to use their camera and scan the barcode. This outputs a string of numbers, which can be used to make a request to OpenFoodFacts to search for the product name. The product name will be populated in a list that the user can view. One issue with the barcode scanner that needs to be fixed is that the list of items disappears when the user exits the app, so I need to implement a state that allows the user to keep their current session. Another issue is that OpenFoodFacts does not provide the price of the product since this is something that varies by store. Thus, we need to decide how to set the price for each product and whether OpenFoodFacts is appropriate for our project or if we should create our own database.
I also worked on researching pathfinding algorithms for our shopping cart. Last week, I determined a potential obstacle avoidance algorithm that we could use, but in order for the cart to follow the user, we decided to use D*. This is because D* is designed for changing environments, so if the cart detects a new obstacle via LiDAR, this algorithm can replan that path without recalculating the entire path.
Next week, I plan to fix the issues I mentioned above with the mobile app and get a fully functional mobile app. If there is additional time, I hope to start doing research on LiDAR as we have the sensor and see what kind of information we can get from it.
Barcode Scanner Resources:
https://medium.com/@jpmtech/how-to-make-a-qr-or-barcode-scanner-in-swiftui-68d8dae8e908
https://medium.com/@ios_guru/swiftui-and-custom-barcode-scanner-f3daaeabfcea
Barcode Scanner Demo:
https://vimeo.com/1124535079?share=copy
D* Resources:
https://www.ri.cmu.edu/pub_files/pub3/stentz_anthony__tony__1994_2/stentz_anthony__tony__1994_2.pdf