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William’s Status Report 4/12/2025

Accomplishments This Week

  • 3D printed the housing for the ARDUCAM
  • Soldered and tested the GPS module, however, it didn’t work as well as expected. Thus, we will be reverting back to the Blues Notecard. I was able to integrate the Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller onto the Blues Notecard.
  • Manual Trigger with testing button.

Reflection on Schedule

  • Slightly behind schedule. However, with completely focusing on the integration aspect of the flow, I still believe that we will be able to get everything done well before the demo deadline.

Plans For Next Week:

  • Fully integrate entire pipeline with manual trigger
  • Housing for the “pocket” module, will require more 3D printing and measuring
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William’s Status Report for 3/29/2025

Accomplishments This Week:

This week, I continued working on the micro-controller development of the hardware parts. We ran into a few issues with the automation aspect of capturing image to the server receiving the image serially through the Python library PySerial. Thus, we switched into MQTT transmission between the PICO captured image and the local server running on our laptop. The pipeline between the captured image and our local server host now works.

In regards to the location module of the system with the Blues Notecard, it is able to communicate the coordinates between the module and the local server via HTTP. However, the automation has a little bit of issues since it can only communicate twice then the device shuts down for some reason.  In addition, the location seem a little bit far from our expectations. Thus, I requested to replace the module with GPS tracker here.

According to some research, it seems a lot more accurate than the Blues Notecard and can provide real-time configuration of the location. This should be fairly easy to configure via UART, so we plan on trying to switch this component for the location aspect of the project. It should be a pretty easy transition here.

Reflection on Schedule:

I think that considering four weeks left till the final demo, our group is still on track to finish by the final demo. The location module seems intuitive to complete, so we will focus on integration and design for the remaining weeks.

Plans for Next Week:

We will be spending some time on the interim demo. In addition, we will also order another GPS device for our location and integration + location will be our main focus for the week.

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William’s Status Report for 3/15/2025

This week, I continued working on the script/microcontroller code with the Raspberry Pi Pico W. Last week, there were still some reliability issues with maintaining the connection. However, after adding some additional configuration code to the microcontroller, it appears that the connection is now stable, which is the main improvement from last week.

After fixing the wifi connection with the RPI Pico, I am still in progress with the configuration process of the Blues Notecard as it is also having some connecting issues with our hotspot, but I am close to getting the configuration of Blues Notecard completed.

I am still slightly behind schedule. However,  the Blues Notecard is close to being done, and I will almost next focus on the Arducam. Since Dhruv is close to being done on the software end, he will jump in to help me with the Arducam next week as well to speed up the technical development progress.

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Rohit’s Status Report – 3/8/2025

For the web app, I’ve made some more progress on the Django backend structure. I completed the initial database models for users, image records, location history, and daily summaries. I’ve established the relationships between these models and implemented the basic query functions needed to retrieve and display the data efficiently. I also created the first version of the calendar view that will serve as the main interface for users to access their daily logs.

On the cloud infrastructure side, I’ve been working with Dhruv to address the AWS configuration. I researched alternative approaches for handling image storage within the AWS free tier constraints, focusing on ways to optimize our S3 bucket usage through aggressive image compression and efficient data structures.

For the frontend, I refined the UI mockups based on our design requirements and began converting them into Django templates with responsive CSS.

My progress is slightly behind schedule due to the unexpected AWS configuration challenges and the time spent on the design report. To catch up, I plan to dedicate additional hours next week to the web app dev and will parallelize certain tasks by working on the frontend and backend simultaneously.

For next week, I plan to complete implementation of the calendar view with mock data integration and finalize API endpoints for image and location data processing.

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Team Status Report for 3/8/2025

One of the most significant risks currently facing the project is ensuring stable communication between the RPI Pico W and the Blues Notecard. Initial tests are indicating some reliability issues with maintaining a Wi-Fi connection, which could impact data transmission. To mitigate this, we are experimenting with different network configurations and will consider implementing a fallback mechanism that attempts reconnection in case of failure.

On the software side, integrating cloud services remains a challenge. While we initially planned to use AWS, we are still working within the constraints of the free-tier model. If we encounter limitations, we will most likely have to pay out-of-pocket in available AWS services.

Our contingency plan involves storing data locally on the Pico W and batch uploading it when a stable connection is available.

There are currently no design changes to our system architecture.

Thus, this week, we successfully flash the RPI Pico W and establish a basic Wifi connection. We also set up initial configurations for Blues, though further debugging is required to achieve stable data transmission.

Global Factors (written by William Wang)

GlassMate addresses a global need for effortless journaling by automating image capture and AI-driven summaries. It benefits travelers, professionals, and individuals with memory challenges by reducing cognitive load and eliminating manual documentation.

The system leverages IoT and cloud computing for scalable, secure data management, making it accessible worldwide. Privacy concerns are addressed with configurable capture settings and allowing users to not use glasses when doing sensitive tasks, ensuring ethical data collection. By integrating widely supported platforms like Raspberry Pi Pico W and Django, GlassMate remains adaptable and easy-to-use for all types of interested users.

Cultural Factors (written by Dhruv Dixit)

GlassMate considers cultural sensitivities around photography and privacy, allowing users to control when and where images are taken. Multilingual support in the web app enhances accessibility across diverse communities.

Beyond personal use, GlassMate benefits professionals by enabling automated documentation of fieldwork and events during the day. Its AI-generated summaries cater to both visual and text-based memory-keeping preferences, ensuring broad cultural relevance.

Environmental Factors (Written by Rohit Chand)

GlassMate prioritizes sustainability with energy-efficient components, data compression for reduced cloud storage use, and a modular design for easy upgrades.

Its reliance on cloud-based AI processing minimizes hardware requirements, lowering energy and waste consumption. Future iterations can incorporate recycled materials, reducing e-waste while maintaining product longevity and efficiency.