This week, we had the mid-project demo. The previous week, I had created the outline-strokes and the fill-in strokes, as well as come up with an initial color choosing algorithm. Chris decided to make the fill-in strokes faster, so I was left with making sure that the color-matching algorithm was robust. Initially, the algorithm was picking colors such as yellow and orange for the green. The same inaccuracy was true for other colors. After changing the weight values of the 3 HSV channels, I was able to make the algorithm quite accurate. This is what we demonstrated on the mid-project demo day. However, there were still a few inaccuracies, especially with the greens. We then decided to both improve the weight values through experimentation and also make sure that the stored palette color values were accurate. After making sure that the HSV values were perfect and improving the weights further, I ended up with a nearly perfect color choosing algorithm.
My progress is mostly on schedule this week. I’ve finished perfecting the color choosing algorithm. Since there were lots of software tasks left, most of the physical system had been built, and the remaining tasks required parts which had yet to arrive, Chris helped by making the fill-in algorithm faster (using matrix operations in python), and creating a faster plotting function. The other task I’m supposed to be finishing up soon is testing the painting algorithm on the gantry system. However, we were slightly delayed on that part, so I haven’t started testing yet. To make sure I catch up, I will spend extra time during Carnival to finish testing.
For the next week, I’m scheduled to work on testing the painting algorithm, and helping Chris and Eric with their tasks, since the software algorithm is more or less complete. This includes tasks such as calibration and optimizing the painting routines.