Tuesday, May 3, 2016

FotoSketcher for Android - progress report *** update: Android test app available ***

Hi all,

As promised, here is a quick update on the FotoSketcher for Android proof of concept. I have started experimenting with direct pixel access (which is needed for my algorithms) and as a testbed I have ported part of the Painting 9 algorithm.

Here is a screenshot of the work in progress (obviously the interface will be improved!):



On my 3 year old development PC, the process takes about 4 seconds to produce the 1024 x 681 pixels picture. On a Galaxy S6 Edge, the same process takes about 1 minute and 35 seconds. This means that I will need to optimize quite a bit (if possible) and that processing large images will take a long time...

Hey, at least it works ;)

Best regards,

David

06/06/16 update: you can download (at your own risk!) an Android executable here

You will need to allow your Android device to allow untrusted applications to be installed, so it's for advanced users only.

Just load or take a picture using the bottom buttons and then click on the FotoSketcher logo in the top left corner to launch the effect.

This is a proof of concept, which allows you to take pictures or load them from your image gallery and turn them into watercolors. 
You can also save the result in the image gallery.
At this time, it os not possible to modify the effect parameters (it will look good on some images, not so much on others). 

Don't hesitate to let me know if it works for you or if you encounter any problems.  

14 comments:

Matteo Bignozzi said...

This is a good news.
I've found that on Android there are no decent apps that convert photos to art (besides Impresso, which is good only for impressionist paintings, as the name suggests).
It will be a big hit and you'll make happy many users!
If you need a beta tester, i have a Samsung Galaxy Note 2014 Edition.
Keep on with your wonderful Fotosketcher!

Best regards
Matteo

David said...

Hi Matteo,

Thanks for your kind message.
I have just upload a test .apk executable file if you want to test it on your Galaxy Note :)

Best regards,

David

Zakir said...

Looking good try and more features other then filters for example auto correct picture, adding borders to our pics etc.. if possible I don't mind paying for the app after you have finished making it when its on Google playstore.

David said...

Hi Zakir,

Thank you for your feedback. I will indeed add much more to the Android app. I don't know yet if there will be a paid version of FotoSketcher for Android or just a free one (maybe ad sponsored).
I'll keep you posted on this blog.

Cheers,

David

Matteo Bignozzi said...

Hello David,

I have successfully downloaded and installed your first beta!
My tablet takes about 56 seconds to render the default image and about 4 minutes with a camera shoot (8 Mpx).

I've noticed that the rendering process is split in two parts: until 50% the app generates a sort of low defined image, then it clears the screen and restarts to render again a crisper image. During this process, if it takes some time (more than 2 minutes), a system warning pops up: "Fotosketcher is not responding. What do you want to do? Wait / kill the app". The rendering still continues in background.

Saving is impossible: the save button is not working or disabled.

I've tried a few images: it is quite slow, but stable ( it doesn't freeze or generate unpredicted artifacts and errors).

Do you have a place where I can report my tests? Let me know.

Matteo

David said...

Hello Matteo,

Thank you very much for your feedback! You are right, the algorithm runs a first pass with lower resolution and then renders in higher resolution for the final result.
The times you mention are consistent with my tests. I need to solve this "application not responding" problem, which means I'm currently looking into threading in Android.
As for saving, the button should work, but it does not give you any feedback yet. It just saves in your default image/photo folder. If you wish you can contact me directly at contact@fotosketcher.com

Best regards,

David

Matteo Bignozzi said...

I've found that the app saves the output image in a folder called "photos enregisrèes".
It doesn't give me any feedback, when I save. That's why I believed that saving is impossible. Photos are automatically saved at a lower resolution (about 0.5 Mpx), but that's fine for an early beta :)

Zakir said...

The app works for me only on the default picture but when I try to foto sketch any pictures of mine it does not work im using Samsung Galaxy A3 mid range phone.

David said...

Hi Zakir,
The Galaxy A3 should be powerful enough. Can you tell me more? Does the photo appear on the screen (whether you open an existing image or take a photo with the phone)? Do you get an error message?
Cheers,
David

Zakir said...

The photo loads as normal I get an error message when I try to foto sketch the picture it does not work at all only works on default picture the app needs more work as Always its not the finished product so there will be problems along the way until you have the finished product keep up the good work I have been following your desktop version for a number of years now still the best hope the Android app is Same or similar to the desktop version

David said...

Hi Zakir,
Can you try again and give me the exact error message you get? That would be very helpful.
Thanks!

zakir said...

hope we get an update on foto skeacther for android whats been happening there are many apps available on google play store for edditing pictures but not as good as yours as the other apps dont have good painting, sketch etc.. filters you will fill the gap.


keep doing what you do best and love thanks

regards

zakir

Peter (BC, Canada) said...

Salut David,

Hope you had a good Summer! What's up on your side? Any new developments coming on... soon?

David said...

Bonjour Peter,

I've indeed had a great summer and I'm now back in programming mode ;)
I have been busy working on the Android version lately, so no new groundbreaking development is scheduled for the Windows version in the short term.
The mobile version is proving a challenge as I have to battle with much less processing power than on PCs and in order to avoid getting an unresponsive app, I have to use multiple threads (which is horrible to program in Delphi with bitmaps...). But I'm making progress, so I should have a new test version for Android out rather soon.