This week was our interim demo week where we had to explain and showcase the current version of our design. Our current system, while still in a rough design stage, is a good minimal viable product which successfully demonstrates the core functionality we set out to implement. The capacitive touch sensor is mostly operational, and both the numpad and projector are communicating effectively with our software. The only problem is that the capacitive grid sensors aren’t working in unison so we had to separate our row and column grids – now our focus is now shifting toward refining features and improving integration.
On my end, I’ve implemented a basic version of the hint system. Currently, it retrieves the correct number from the solved puzzle and simply fills it into the selected cell. While this meets the minimum requirement, it’s admittedly too revealing for an educational tool that aims to promote self-solving, learning, and problem solving. I’ve been thinking more about how to redesign this feature to be more helpful without outright giving away answers. One idea is to generate and display a list of possible candidate numbers for a selected cell, based on Sudoku rules – specifically, which numbers are already present in the same row, column, or 3×3 grid. Another possibility is to use subtle visual cues, such as highlighting particular rows or cells, to guide the user’s thought process without solving the puzzle for them. These are still early ideas, but I’ll be exploring them more deeply in the coming days.