Web navigation designer
Idea
Develop a Flex application to allow a number of remote users to drag and drop web page categories into groups – the application then generates the optimal grouping for tree navigation of the site.
This could be extended to distributed brainstorming if users were allowed to dynamically create categories.
Could also be extended using a little image processing to process photos of collections of posit notes – each posit note containing an idea from a brain storming session. Users could then organise them into groups individually – the aggregate result being presented (as a dendrogram or other cluster representation).
Project
Use Flex list components (advanced data grids) to allow users to drag and drop categories together. Then apply something called dendrogram analysis to combine and show optimal grouping. This would be similar in many ways to WebSort
Skills required
Flex application so basic programming skills required.
Web application: Genetic Algorithm assisted Photographic Flickr Collage Generation
Goal
To develop highly interactive, cool web application that allows users to quickly generate a range of collages of Fickr photos using Flickr tags and image features.
Idea
- Browser application in which user selects Flickr photos using tags, browsing etc.
- The images are laid out in a collage and displayed to the user using some simple rules e.g. images with 50% light sky should be at the top, images containing bright primaries should be at the front, images with similar Flickr tags.
- Simple effects should be occasionally applied to the images – e.g. sepia, blurring, distortions, hue adjustments etc.
- The user presses a “reshuffle” button and a new collage is produced.
- If the user presses the button quickly then the collage receives a low score, those that the user lingers on receive a high score.
- A genetic algorithm is used to generate new collages which are combinations of old (popular) collages.
- At any point the user may ‘drag’ images into new positions or ‘zoom’ them to new sizes. These actions cause automatic repositioning of surrounding images using simple dynamics to give the photographs ‘weight’.
Sources
- Flickr API http://www.flickr.com/services/api/ (note the ActionScript bit).
- http://www.flickr.com/services/
- O’Reilly’s Getting Started with Flex 3 book (see the Flickr viewer)
Skills required
Flex application so basic programming skills required.
Inspiration
Google map, Flickr image mashup for student guide to campus and local areas
Goal:
Web application that allows students to upload images, movies, and comments to a Flex application that displays all information on a local Google Map. Users should be able to ‘sketch’ paths, routes, buildings as well as adding comments, movies etc. to locations.
Application should be locally hosted using simple PHP and MySQL.
Idea:
- Use Google’s Flex API to create a web application that has full Google map functionality (see Google’s FlexDeveloper’s Guide) that on startup goes to the local Google Map.
- Add simple sketching capability to allow multiple, moderated users to sketch routes, important locations, walks etc
- Add basic information to Riccarton map (e.g. building outlines, paths, department info on zoom and mouse over).
- Add basic information to local area map (e.g. bus routes, airport, bus station etc.)
- Add PHP/MySQL interface to allow users to add and store images, sketches, movies and comments to map locations
- Add Flickr referencing using geotagging
Skills required
Flex application so programming skills required.
Inspiration:
- Google myMaps provides a nice idea of the basics of the interface (I’ve added the routes and polygons highlighting our building and its carparks below). But imagine that this was a Flash app. to which we could add various animations, comment lists, wkiki, and mouseovers etc. and that it was linked to our own mySQL database. Local students could add movies, routes, places of interest, comments etc. (ok, so local pubs, shops, clubs would be more interesting…..)View Click here for larger map
- Google’s Flex demos and Developer’s Guides show you how to get a simple Flex app. talking to Google maps (it took me about an hour to get something going).
Web application: Photo Editor
Idea:
- Web application that implements some of Photoshop, Gimp etc. – the most interesting ones being those that are highly interactive (and hence client-side processing) e.g. cutting out and compositing foreground figures and fitting 3D virtual rooms etc.
Skills required
Flex application so basic programming skills required.
Inspiration:
Cool/fun/wacky Web/Mobile app: Your Idea
Idea:
Anything that you want to do for a Web application that’s legal and is challenging enough to provide good marks for a 4th year project. But it must have a clearly defined set of potential users and be of clear benefit to them, so it can’t be just an “I want to learn about Flex apps” project.
Skills required
Flex application so basic programming skills required.
Student must self-reliant and be likely to get a 2.1, of first class degree.