I'm looking for a way to improve a tedious manual process I have for mapping out an event site. Right now, I have this giant 8-foot map on a wall where I stick labels with object numbers to represent various items. Then, I manually jot down their coordinates, which is super time-consuming. I'm dreaming of a solution that can help me digitize this task. I'm inspired by how the old Kinect device recorded points in space but understand that technology has moved on. I still need to keep the physical map with the stickers, but I want a tech solution that can automatically record the coordinates into a digital database as I place the stickers on the map. Ideally, I'd like to use something like QR codes on the stickers to tell the system which object it represents and also link that to its location on the map, which would have predefined latitude and longitude coordinates for accuracy.
5 Answers
I get wanting to keep that physical component! But if power issues are a concern, be cautious with digital solutions. Whichever route you choose, make sure the process won’t accidentally erase or alter your setup by mistake!
Consider investing in a large digital whiteboard or smart board. You could display the map and interact with it using touch input or a digital pen. It might not solve your physical map requirement, but it could offer a more intuitive way to manage the data and be less prone to manual errors.
You could definitely use a decent USB camera combined with some software like OpenCV, along with your QR codes. It might take some setup, but once it’s up and running, it can automatically read the QR codes and log the coordinates for you based on their placement on the map.
If you're not that tech-savvy, maybe just look into using some vision recognition tools. You could try out Qwen-VL or something like YOLO or SAM to recognize the stickers and read the QR codes or the numbers. This might save you a lot of manual input!
Have you thought about using barcodes instead? You could stick them on various items around the site, snap their photos, and see if the GPS data can capture their coordinates. Then, just create a database system to sort and retrieve those images based on their GPS info. Alternatively, you could design an SVG of your map and plot your coordinates on that, though it might require a bit of math to align everything. If I’m misunderstanding your need, please clarify!
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