Category: Team’s Status Report

This week we met as a group. We worked on our presentation slides. The integration of servo and dealer software is complete and we tested them very thoroughly. We also integrate CV with dealer software. However, there were a little bit of issues with CV algorithm, more specifically tuning the parameters so that it can detect chips accurately, which could be resolved once we determine the lighting and environment and keep it consistent. We plan to meet again tomorrow and set everything up again at Pat’s house because he has a proper poker table. We are on track to finish everything and present our project for demo. We look forward to it.

This week Pat and Steve worked on the poker logic. Brandon is experimenting with different approaches for Computer vision. Currently  there are 3 main phase of integration: the game state tracker Poker logic, stack/potsize logic, and finally rotate servo. Pat and Steve finished the GST poker logic. There are more details about this in their individual posts. For the stack/pot size logic, we plan do give GST a fake input to see if stack/pot size updating works first. Once Brandon refines the CV algorithm, we will use the output directly from CV. For the servo rotation, we already set up the serial communication. So next step we just need to figure out the exact angle of each player and send that to the arudino to rotate the servo. The hardest part of the poker logic is handled. Next up is refinement and make sure everything runs smoothly.

This week, we’ve been busy getting our demo ready. So far, our setup for the Raspberry Pi is underway and the servo control from the Pi has been integrated with the Game State Tracker. We’ve decided to make several changes, including cutting out the difference between the Dealer and Player UIs (showing both on the same screen) and placing the chips closer than before to the camera (for better chip reading accuracy). By the end of tonight, the CV part should be polished enough to integrate and we can test over the next 3 days.

 

Here is an updated Gantt Chart:

Going forward, we will have a lot less time due to a bit of an oversight in planning. Nonetheless, our goals have not changed.

This week, each of us have been trudging along on our separate subsystems. Patrick has been focusing on the dealer UI and the player UI, Steve has been working on the servo, and Brandon has been working with the CV. So far, the player UI seems just about finished and the dealer UI is aesthetically done as well. The CV is coming along, but there is a bit of concern regarding lighting conditions.  Steve has also been 3-D printing the assembly, which should be done by tomorrow. In addition, all of us have been getting to integrate everything together into the game state tracker, which has proven to be a little more challenging to design than expected. However, we’ve made good progress and have a barebones structure lain out for it; this should be enough to get us ready for integration next week. For the MVP, we want to show the device scanning stacks and updating at least a single person’s values.

This week everyone had midterms so we didn’t meet at a group. However, we finalized the table design and people are starting to work on their own tasks. Pat and Brandon are still waiting for their parts. They should arrive soon. Next week we will be able to start writing code for our individual components. And after that’s done we will work on the game state control together.

This week our team met and made great progress. We solidified our design specifications for the Smart Poker Table, and elaborated on the game flow for the dealer interface. We made block diagrams for the game flow in software and explained how different components will be communicating with each other on a macro level. We also constructed a Bill of Materials for all our expenses, and placed orders for these parts. We are currently working on our team presentation, and are looking forward to a good presentation on Monday.

We spent the beginning of the week participating in the group presentation review. At the end of the week, we met and solidified our thoughts regarding specific software and hardware choices. To summarize, we decided to use a Servo as the motor for our spinning camera, a standard web camera for our CV, and to centralize all our software on a Raspberry Pi. A minor setback this week is deciding who should receive the parts, as some of the team is currently located outside of Pittsburgh. Once we finalize that and other outstanding design choices, we will begin placing orders.

Our project has shifted focus away from the original idea; rather than using RFID to read cards and CV to read chips to make information easier to use, we are trying to create a table which speeds up the game through usability. This involves creating a system that automatically goes through the players in the order of the game and tracks their actions and bets during each round, allowing the dealer to have an easier time running the game. We dropped the RFID idea and instead are opting for a camera that sweeps through the table, stopping at each player’s position to read stacks and bets along the way. The plan is to display information such as pot size and player’s stack size that are available to users on online/virtual poker in real life poker. While changes are expected to happen as we go along, we feel our current objective is much more exciting and useful than our previous one.