Inspiration
When discussing potential ideas for our project we wanted something that could be used by anybody and everybody would have reason to use. One of our members had wanted to examine if a mathematical and logical algorithm used to solve a problem would become more efficient then a human when presented with a simple problem as it became more and more complex. We choose a maze because it is much easier for humans to solve when it is simple but we believed the algorithm would have an advantage when scaled massively.
What it does
People can upload their personalized maze in .jpg file on our website called "Maze Solver", and our website will send the image to Python code which turns the image to black and white properties. Then, the edited image is sent to the Python algorithm where it is solved with red lines indicating the passage through the maze and sent back to our website which displays the solved maze.
How we built it
We separated the work into three steps so that we could work on one step without interfering one the other steps. Our first step was the website and URL, which had to allow the user to either upload a jpg file or take a photo. Our second step was taking the inputted file and converting it into a list of 0s and 1s based on the pixel's in the photos colors and later display the solved image to the user. The third step was the algorithm responsible for solving the maze. These three steps were each essential to the program.
Challenges we ran into
We came across a long list of challenges as we created our product. In step 3 we came across a variety of compile and runtime errors, as well as many more logical errors. We also had trouble converting the information and data from one language or system to another. We also came across a variety of 405, 404, and 500's errors converting html files to python.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Due to the various challenges we came across we felt even more proud of our accomplishments. We were able to successful allow the user to take a photo and send that photo to the algorithm to solve. We also despite numerous logical errors were able to create a maze solving algorithm that worked. Some of our members are proud of their accomplishment of learning python and expanded their knowledge of web-building programming languages.
What we learned
We learned a lot working on our project. Some of our members learned python and others expanded their knowledge. We also learned flask, HTML, and even JavaScript when we were looking at what options we had to display the pictures. We also learned a lot in communication and keeping oneself motivated.
What's next for MazeSolver
We all want to see MazeSolver continue and improve. The number one problem we have with it is the time it takes to load. Seeing all it is accomplishing in this time this is understandable, however, we want the program to become more efficient and faster. We would also like more options for our users to allow them more control over the maze they upload.
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