Voice Assistant, Solving Math problems and Play a Game all into One Mobile App - Lori Expansion Pack!

In this week's blog, I will share the two paths I have added to my mobile app and share the resources used to accomplish them. I will also provide a video blog on the new path descriptions as well as a demonstration.  Will provide some tips so you can have a better learning experience and what improvements I am trying to still seek out. Share my emotions during this learning objective and use of AI.

"What - So What - Now What"

During this week I added two more paths and removed one path that was still giving me issues with facial recognition accuracy. The two paths that were added were a voice calculator functionality where users can ask any math problem that includes addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and be given the answer both in text and verbal form. The other path I added is a game functionality where users can play with a Rubik's cube and be timed on how long it takes the user to complete it. This was all achieved by adding 2 additional screens to my app and adding buttons that allow the user to switch from screen to screen and start using the app. As discussed in last week's struggles, I had added the facial recognition and the voice recognition/Internet information all into 1 screen, which made the app screen very busy and not optimal. I was able to correct this by adding additional screens to the app and being connected to one another. Videos used for these paths came from YouTube:

How to Create a Voice Calculator App by Krishna

How to Create a Rubik Cube with Timer App by the Coding Bus along with the extension needed https://community.appinventor.mit.edu/t/free-rubiks-cube-play-rubiks-cube-in-3d/46046

App Inventor Button to Change Screens by Amanda Hogan

All this was easy to accomplish by following the step-by-step guide provided in the videos and to always remembering more, doesn't always equal better. Do one path at a time.

My testing results with my previous path were not to accurate, and that is why I chose to remove the facial recognition path. When testing the voice calculator path, it only takes the actual math problem and no additional verbiage. For example, It prefers to be asked: "24 + 14". Once it collects the numbers and the operation, it will provide an accurate response. But if you ask: What is 24 + 14". then the app will not recognize the operation. Same with subtraction, multiplication, and division operations. For the Rubik's cube game, playing the game feels as real as you are playing with an actual Rubik's cube in your hand, so this path has 100% accuracy and fun.

 

If I were to give each path a grade on the accuracy, user-friendliness, and operation I would say:

-Voice AI Robot: 95% - Reason is that I still cannot figure out how to hide the internet box with the answer after the answer has been provided and go back to its original view.

Voice Calculator: 95% - Reason because of how accurate you have to say the operation and no wiggle room for a sentence-type math question.

Rubik Cube Game: 100%

For those that do not know the pattern, I asked ChatGPT for it and I posted the steps at the bottom of my blog if anyone is interested.

My future plan is to keep experimenting with this application to enhance my tech learning and comprehension of using blocks/code for mobile app creation.

Emotions

Before starting on the assignment, I continued to play with facial recognition, but I found it too hard, to mimic the exact facial expression so it can make comparisons for accuracy.  With the low-level accuracy, I decided to remove the path and start learning the voice calculator path as mentioned last week.  But then I still had an original problem of, where am I going to place all these paths.  As I started to look at "Screen1" and was able to add a screen, this is where I knew I could find the answer.  So, before I started on my next path, I knew I needed to learn about how to add and switch from screen to screen in the mobile app. During the process of learning how to add a screen and add the appropriate buttons and blocks, I found it very easy to learn and understand. Now I knew I could start focusing on building my next path. learning and building the voice calculator in the app was relatively easy and took me a good 3-4 hours, but I felt very accomplished and satisfied with what I had built with the help of the video tutorials. After completing these paths, as I normally do, I want to share my resources with everyone, I shared it with my family and even though I do not know how to finish a Rubik cube, maybe now I can figure it out.  I continue to enjoy this course and learning objectives and has brought some new and positive emotions toward learning the tech industry.

ChatGPT Experience

I did not use Chat GPT for any part of the creation of these paths, as most information was provided in the YouTube videos made by Krishna, the Coding Bus, and Amanda Hogan.  However, as I close this weekly blog, I asked ChatGPT just for fun and the answer it provided me is at the bottom:

1. How do you solve a Rubik's cube?  what is the sequence or patterns for this?

2. what pattern is used to solve a Rubik's cube?

I was hoping to actually get the pattern of movements to solve as I have heard there is a pattern of movement, but I guess watching videos will be better in this case.  Overall, I still enjoy using ChatGPT and the information that it offers.

During this entire learning objective, I did not use ChatGPT to learn the objective, however, it was used just to augment the experience.  I understand there is a balance for more comprehensive learning with the use of AI, but not being dependent on it and not plagiarizing with it is where the line cannot be crossed.

In conclusion, developing a mobile app with 3 different paths presented its challenges but was overwhelmed with the reward of having both young and adult generations learn small secrets about coding and developing tech.  Krishna's videos were very informative as well as the others, In Today's age, almost anything can be learned thru video, whereas back in the early 90's you had to resource a book no matter what.  I think the MIT App Inventor should be thought in high school level education, to those wanting to get an early start with tech before going to college and peak their interest.

Have a great week!

Ryan

From ChatGPT:

Solving a Rubik's Cube can be challenging, but with practice and a bit of patience, anyone can learn how to solve it. There are several methods for solving a Rubik's Cube, but one of the most popular and beginner-friendly methods is the CFOP method.

CFOP stands for Cross, F2L (First Two Layers), OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer), and PLL (Permutation of the Last Layer). Here's a brief overview of each step:

Cross: Create a cross on one side of the cube with matching colors. This involves moving the edge pieces into their correct position relative to the centerpieces.

F2L: Solve the first two layers of the cube. This involves pairing up corner and edge pieces and inserting them into their correct position relative to each other.

OLL: Orient the last layer of the cube so that all the colors match. This involves learning a series of algorithms that will help you manipulate the pieces on the cube.

PLL: Permute the last layer of the cube so that all the colors are in their correct position. This involves learning another series of algorithms that will help you manipulate the pieces on the cube.

There are many tutorials and guides available online that can teach you the CFOP method in greater detail, including the specific algorithms for each step. It's important to practice each step individually and then gradually put them together as you become more comfortable with the process. Good luck!