Pocket Ruler

Inspiration

Have you ever wondered how tall the Eiffel Tower is? Maybe you've looked a painting on sale, and failed to gauge if it'll fit your bedroom wall? What if I told you, you could do both of those completely opposite things with the help of single app?

What it does

The app functions on a single screen that lets users gauge the size of real life objects, in metric and non standard units of measurement. After a complete session, the user is prompted to directly save a picture of the object, along with its measures, directly to their device gallery.

How we built it

Pocket Ruler is coded in pure Kotlin, while the app markers are written in Java using the OpenGL tooling system. It uses Google's ARCore Geospatial API to fetch super precise camera location details. The Google Maps API has also been utilized to aid with geolocational data incase of unavailability of VPS in specific regions.

Challenges we ran into

Integration of the Geospatial API within the Kotlin code was definitely a difficult challenge to overcome. As a brand new native developer, it was a little exigent understanding and making sense of the vast documentation. I found out that most of the APIs I had initially decided in favor of, couldn't be easily used with Kotlin, and there were a lot of late night coffee breaks and last minute development decisions.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Pocket Ruler is my entry point into the android developer ecosystem, and is the first native application I've built to completion. In totality, I'm proud of the entire process of scourging my brain for ideas, stumbling on a basic yet interesting one, navigating through the verbose documentation, beating myself up for not getting it right at the first try, and then admiring the final product with heart eyes.

What we learned

This app has taught me how to correctly incorporate APIs within any android framework, while also building my base for more complex operations like switching between activities and routines. Superseding the development process, this project introduced me to the ARCore Geospatial API and it's magnificent method of functioning. VPS isn't a new term for me anymore, and I'm filled with excitement just thinking about its unmatched potential.

What's next for Pocket Ruler

The near future will definitely see Pocket Ruler getting deployed on the Play store. I'm planning to continuously add new quirks and features to the app, since my ultimate motive remains delightful user experience.

Built With

• android
• android-studio
• ar
• arcore-geospatial-api
• kotlin