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--- newsletters:2024-10 [2024/10/31 09:32] – [RFID localization] osnr
+++ newsletters:2024-10 [2024/10/31 10:04] (current) – [System improvements] osnr
@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 {{:newsletters:pasted:20241030-221705.jpeg?0x300px}}
-==== System improvements ====
+==== Gadget/system improvements ====
 Andrés and Omar have been showing the gadget a lot lately, both at outside presentations and at open houses, so Omar has made a lot of small gadget-related fixes.
-(these all apply to the system more generally -- so the gadget is paying off for the normal ceiling systems as well -- but have been particularly acute or frequent with the gadget, because it has more tags at the fringe, it moves more, it has less RAM, etc)
+These all come together to make the gadget feel much more like the computational flashlight we want it to be:
+{{youtube>SHHPDiTw8jo?}}
+(these improvements all apply to the system more generally -- so the gadget is paying off for the normal ceiling systems as well -- but have been particularly acute or frequent with the gadget, because it has more tags at the fringe, it moves more, it has less RAM, etc)
   * [[https://github.com/FolkComputer/folk/commit/e19372bccb796d7bd3827fe71ca660dec4a0665a|Fixed crash where number of Gauss-Newton iters gets really high]] when tag is near edge of camera space, which was causing segfault in those cases
@@ Line 162: / Line 167: @@
 (at Hex House or at home, we have a little more scope to just restart things, we have laptops and other tools around, the Wi-Fi is known-good, etc, so these problems are not as acute)
-  * Grayed-out printing of receipts -- not reliable?
+  * Sometimes printing of tags on receipts is a bit faded -- makes detection less reliable
-  * Calibration gets knocked around, is often off
+  * Calibration gets knocked around if the front panel moves (which it will, it's only attached at 2 screw points) or the camera wiggles off its PCB (the glue seems weak? is it the heat?)
-    * Solution (not implemented yet): Need to make camera attachment to gadget more rigid
+    * Solution 0 (done): superglue the camera back to the PCB
-    * Another solution: Need to make calibration fast and reliable on the go
+    * Solution 1: make camera attachment to gadget more rigid; put the threaded holes on the gadget chassis instead of on the separate panel
+    * Solution A: make calibration fast and reliable on the go
       * or have a fast, quick calibration refinement we can do, rather than the full calibration
-  * Printer status not clear
+  * Printer status not clear, pressing Ctrl-P can be uncertain
-    * Solution 1: Printer control cards
+    * Solution 1 (done): Printer control cards
-  * Wi-Fi is questionable
+    * Solution 2: Ambiently show printer status, print job status once you hit Ctrl-P?
+  * Wi-Fi is questionable as a way to talk to Folk -- you need to manually get it on the network SSID and password & sometimes [[https://x.com/rsnous/status/1849252167053721945|local connections are blocked]]
+    * Solution 1: use Bluetooth Low Energy
+    * Solution 2 (achieved): carry portable wireless USB keyboard that can always go to a Linux terminal, enter Wi-Fi options, do other stuff
+    * Solution 3: some kind of wired serial terminal that you can drive from laptop?
+    * Solution 4: run an ad-hoc Wi-Fi always? haven't figured this out yet
   * Reliance on power outlets is very annoying -- what if you have a meeting at a cafe? what if you just want to carry the thing around the warehouse and point it at walls?
     * Solution: Waveshare makes a [[https://www.waveshare.com/ups-module-3s.htm|standalone battery unit for the Pi 5]] that is perfect -- it's not a hat, so it works with our existing design -- Velcro it to the top of the gadget for now
       * {{:newsletters:pasted:20241029-090746.jpeg?150px}} {{newsletters:img_8468.jpg?150px}}
       * (maybe do a respin with a built-in battery hat? unit would get significantly bigger)
+      * does this break the projector?
   * Calibration not reliable?
-  * Would be good to pre-print:
+    * -> "camera occlusion seems to be a big problem (i don't really feel this but it could be the position from which I was presenting)"
+    * -> "My arms kept getting in the way. I think more than occlusion, the tag masking wasn't working great for some of the programs I had out and that was getting misinterpreted as being an occlusion problem."
+    * -> "yeah, if you're leaning hard on tag masking I think you need 1mm accuracy -- often I would say that tweaking exposure is the key thing (and there's a lot we could do in the UI to support making better calibration, too)"
+  * Daniel: Would be good to pre-print:
     * Recalibrate card
-    * Display camera frame on table card (to help adjust exposure)
+    * Display camera frame on table card (to help adjust exposure while calibrating, debug tag detection failures)
-Escape hatches: bring a laptop, bring a mobile hotspot, ssh, web ui
+Daniel's escape hatches: bring a laptop, bring a mobile hotspot, ssh, use the web ui
 ===== What we'll be up to in November =====