The document is a project report for a smart mirror created by a student team. It includes an overview of the project, a list of the hardware and software used, including APIs and a Raspberry Pi. It describes changes made from the previous quarter, including struggles faced and contributions by team members. It provides details on the final product and lessons learned.

1. CSS 498, Summer 2016
Jessica Nguyen, Jonathan Velazquez, Jabari Barton, Burhan Nurdin
The Smart Mirror
Project Report
By H[app]iness Development
To be reviewed by Jeff Kim

2. Table Of Contents
I. Overview
II. Equipment
III. APIs Used
IV. Changes
V. Struggles
VI. Contribution Log
VII. Final Product
VIII. Take-Aways
IX. Price Breakdown
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3. The purpose of this independent study project was for us to learn
about and experience creating deliverable software products, and
being able to create and integrate hardware with a user interface. Our
team learned how to pull information from an RSS feed (for UWB
calendar events) and various APIs using JSON Objects (for weather,
bus schedule, traffic conditions/incidents) that is displayed on a LCD
screen. GPIO motion sensors are used to “swipe” between different
modules.
We used a Raspberry Pi 3 to power our product. The small, portable
design of the Pi is perfect for our purpose since we are building a slim
casing for the mirror frame. It is also an affordable and powerful tool.
We are using two Ultrasonic Module Distance GPIO Sensors to
navigate between modules in our program. These work much better
because they measure at what distance the interruption (activator)
happens. This way, we can say any interruptions within 1 inch of the
sensor will trigger the right or left sliding module (depending on which
sensor was triggered.)
For the main piece of hardware, we are using an LCD TV monitor. We
are the using an HDMI out on the Raspberry Pi to display it our
software GUI. With all the unforeseen circumstances, we have decided
to make this a display and not include the mirror-like film on the
display just yet. After adding all of the other modules, the mirror film
makes a lot of the information hard to read on the display and we
would rather have more functionality than the originally intended
aesthetic. See pictures of all equipment on pages 10-11.
I. Overview
II. Equipment
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4. Here is a list of APIs that we are pulling information from:
III. APIs Used
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UWB Trumba events calendar RSS feed
Wunderground Weather API
Google Maps API
OneBusAway API
The changes we made to the project from what we completed last
quarter include both software and hardware changes. We changed
the overall basis of the GUI and optimized it with a different API. In
the beginning, we were using the JPanel API to display onto the
screen but after experimentation with different APIs we later
changed to JavaFX due to its simpler format and cleaner output. We
also added the other modules that we had originally outlined in our
wireframe. This includes the traffic information, using the Google
Maps API, which displays the congested traffic areas/incidents
(such as car accidents and construction routes) near campus. This
page also shows a longer, written list of hazards to avoid on the
roadways. Another added module is the bus schedule which shows
when each bus is supposed to arrive on campus. The final module
that we added this quarter is the school events page. This page
displays a list of upcoming events on UWB’s campus, taken from
the UWB Trumba calendar RSS feed.
As for hardware, we added three more sensors, for a total of four,
for switching between different modules: Go left, go right, scroll up,
scroll down.
IV. Changes

5. V. Struggles
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Our team faced many challenges during the duration of this project.
The hardware aspect of this project was the most difficult challenge
we faced, by far. None of our group members were very experienced
with dealing with hardware, so we had to turn our attention to other
sources online to help us. Learning how to hook up the sensors
properly with the breadboard and connect them properly back to
the Raspberry Pi was a feat that, although successful, resulted in
several pieces of broken equipment.
Another issue we had was dealing with the new API that we decided
to use, JavaFX. Although the implementation was much simpler than
the other API’s we researched and experimented with, learning how
to use JavaFX was still problematic in the beginning. Eventually we
all learned how to utilize its basic functions and other more
advanced functions in order to use the API for our needs.
It may sound very cliché but one of the biggest struggles we had to
face was ourselves. Getting everyone together in the summer after
a long, hard school year required a lot of effort. In addition, we all
were attending other summer classes and wanted to focus more on
those. In the end, we got together and put many hours into the
project week after week until it came to its fruition.

6. Here is a list of all parts of the project that each group
member has contributed to.
VI. Contribution Log
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7. Through our struggles, the final product turned out very well. The
product displays the current date, the 7 day weather forecast for
Bothell, traffic status in the Bothell area along with road hazards, bus
schedule, and UWB’s own upcoming school events. Users are able to
swipe left or right and scroll up or down by activating the motion
sensors on the sides of the screen.
There are a few touch ups that are necessary to complete before the
project will be completely done in our eyes. The first task we will do
is mounting the sensors in their appropriate locations along the edge
of the LCD screen so users are able to move to the next or previous
page and scroll up or down. We also will need to add the reflective
glass screen to the LCD TV to actually make it a mirror. Lastly, we
need to fix small bugs and other usability issues in the software. We
plan on having our project on display in the ARC building on campus
for
students to take advantage of its features. We are glad that we can
be a part of something that makes our campus a little bit better.
VII. Final Product
This project took much more time to complete than we anticipated,
and it was definitely a lot more difficult than we had first thought.
There was a lot of research we did to help us succeed in the
progression of this project. We learned a lot during this time, and will
continue to do so.
Though the CSSE coursework at UWB has given us a lot of the
foundation and basics that we needed to tackle this project, there was
much more that we took upon ourselves to learn outside the
classroom.
VIII. Take-Aways
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8. The take-aways do not differentiate very much from the previous
quarter because we were mainly expanding on the skills that we
learned last quarter with this project. The biggest things that we
have learned during the entire independent study project include
the following:
All of these skills are valuable with real-world applicability and will
definitely apply to all of our future careers. We are proud of what
we have been able to accomplish this quarter and are even more
excited to see what we can accomplish next quarter.
Learning how to use JavaFX library
Learning / programming Python
Troubleshooting Raspberry Pi
Software compatibility with different JDKs, versions of
Python, and various Python packages
Persistence under harsh conditions
Pulling from APIs and using JSON, GSON, and RSS
Implementing runnable threads in Python
Creating a GUI that we can deploy our product with
Learning how circuit boards work
Connecting hardware pieces to our circuit boards
Writing interactive code that will read the input information from
the hardware
How to collaborate on code remotely using version control soft-
ware (Git / GitHub)
How to work effectively in a team in terms of timeline, splitting
up and delegating tasks, scheduling to fit everybody’s needs,
maintaining mutual levels of motivation and work ethic, and
common understanding of goals.
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9. Pyroelectric Infrared Motion Sensors
Source: Amazon.com
Price: $4.95
Use: To listen for the motion gestures of the user and to
trigger the navigation between modules.
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Starter Kit - 32 GB Edition
Includes:
Source: Amazon.com
Price: $89.99
Use: To power the Smart Mirror and to run the program(s) that
we write to create the GUI, manage the modules’ functionality, retrieve and display
information, and to keep the mirror running continuously.
Raspberry Pi 3 (1.2 GHz, 1 GB RAM)
On-board WiFi
On-board Bluetooth
32 GB Micro SD Card (Class 10)
CanaKit 2.5A Power Supply
5ft Micro USB Cable
Noise Filter
Raspberry Pi 3 Case
6.5ft HDMI Cable
Heat Sink
CanaKit GPIO to Breadboard
Interface Board
Ribbon Cable
Large Breadboard
Jumper Wires
8 x LEDs (Blue/Red/Yellow/Green)
15 x Resistors
2 x Push Button Switches
Includes:
5 x PIR Sensors
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10. One-Way Mirror Film
Source: Amazon.com
Price: $9.99
Use: Turn the glass of the TV monitor into a
reflective mirror surface.
Infrared LED Bulbs
Source: Amazon.com
Price: $9.99
Use: To test our circuit connections on the RPi3, so
we know if we are correctly connecting our wires and
parts.
Ultrasonic Module Distance
Sensors
Source: Amazon.com
Price: $49.99
Use: To listen for the motion gestures of the user
and to trigger the navigation between modules more
accurately than the PIR sensors.
37” Vizio LCD TV
Source: Craigslist Seattle
Price: $50.00
Use: To act as a display for the Smart Mirror.
Includes:
TV w/ Power
Supply Cord
Includes:
7 x UMD Sensors
Includes:
50 x LED Bulbs
Includes:
12in x 24in Roll
of One-Way
Extra Dark
Mirror Film
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11. Thank you for your time.
Contact the team at:
happdevuwb@gmail.com
Jessica Nguyen
Jonathan Velazquez
Burhan Nurdin
Jabari Barton
jessica@happdev.com
jonathan@happdev.com
burhan@happdev.com
jabari@happdev.com
Contact us individually at:
OR