From the nr74website:

c74 is an iPhone / iPod Touch app that let’s you connect your device with Cycling ’74′s Max/MSP 5.

The massive improvement over existing interface layout apps is that the layout is dynamically controlled by Max. Therefore we can have the interface adapt to the tasks it has to perform in real-time.

In order to connect this app to Max please download the free external from : http://www.nr74.org/c74/c74.zip(requires osx 10.5 or higher !)

Custom controller interfaces are built straight from within Max, presets can be stored etc. The external features some nice attributes for receiving accelerometer, GPS, compass, shake gesture and proximity data.

Please note : the c74 app won’t run on 1st gen iPods

Please note : the c74 external requires osx 10.5 or higher

Looking forward to playing with this. Nice work n74!

OverlayViewTester screenshot

So first I will describe the OverlayViewTester app. Basically it just overlays some cool looking red selection braces on a camera view and has a button that when pressed performs a ‘scan’ for two seconds and lets you know by adding a “Scanning…” label at the top of the screen during that time. So really it does nothing, but it looks good and is a good first step to making a more fun and interesting interactive camera overlay app.

To get started download the source code from GitHub. Next I will go through the files in the project and present the juicy bits. Consult the source code you downloaded for the full meal deal.

OverlayViewTesterApDelegate

Taking a look at the project we start with a typical app delegate, OverlayViewTesterAppDelegate which loads the OverlayViewController. Nothing monumental there so I won’t bother reproducing it here.

OverlayViewController

Now on to the OverlayViewController where we create the camera view.

In the interface, OverlayViewController.h: we define some constants:

// Transform values for full screen support:
#define CAMERA_TRANSFORM_X 1
#define CAMERA_TRANSFORM_Y 1.12412

// iPhone screen dimensions:
#define SCREEN_WIDTH  320
#define SCREEN_HEIGTH 480

In the implementation, OverlayViewController.m there is a bit of a GOTCHA. The line

[self presentModalViewController:picker animated:YES];

must be called in viewDidAppear: not in a viewDidLoad: method. Here it is:

- (void) viewDidAppear:(BOOL)animated {
    OverlayView *overlay = [[OverlayView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGTH)];

    // Create a new image picker instance:
    UIImagePickerController *picker = [[UIImagePickerController alloc] init];

    // Set the image picker source:
    picker.sourceType = UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypeCamera;

    // Hide the controls:
    picker.showsCameraControls = NO;
    picker.navigationBarHidden = YES;

    // Make camera view full screen:
    picker.wantsFullScreenLayout = YES;
    picker.cameraViewTransform = CGAffineTransformScale(picker.cameraViewTransform, CAMERA_TRANSFORM_X, CAMERA_TRANSFORM_Y);

    // Insert the overlay:
    picker.cameraOverlayView = overlay;

    // Show the picker:
    [self presentModalViewController:picker animated:YES];
    [picker release];

    [super viewDidAppear:YES];
}

I think the comments make it clear what is going on there.

OverlayView

Next lets look at the custom subclass of UIView called OverlayView. This is where we actually create our overlay.

In the interface, OverlayView.h we declare two new methods:

- (void)scanButtonTouchUpInside;
- (void)clearLabel:(UILabel *)label;

Here are the important parts of the implementation, OverlayView.m:

- (id)initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame {
    if (self = [super initWithFrame:frame]) {
        // Clear the background of the overlay:
	self.opaque = NO;
	self.backgroundColor = [UIColor clearColor];

	// Load the image to show in the overlay:
	UIImage *overlayGraphic = [UIImage imageNamed:@"overlaygraphic.png"];
	UIImageView *overlayGraphicView = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage:overlayGraphic];
	overlayGraphicView.frame = CGRectMake(30, 100, 260, 200);
	[self addSubview:overlayGraphicView];
	[overlayGraphicView release];

	ScanButton *scanButton = [[ScanButton alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(130, 320, 60, 30)];

	// Add a target action for the button:
	[scanButton addTarget:self action:@selector(scanButtonTouchUpInside) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
	[self addSubview:scanButton];
    }
    return self;
}

- (void) scanButtonTouchUpInside {
    UILabel *scanningLabel = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(100, 50, 120, 30)];
    scanningLabel.backgroundColor = [UIColor clearColor];
    scanningLabel.font = [UIFont fontWithName:@"Courier" size: 18.0];
    scanningLabel.textColor = [UIColor redColor];
    scanningLabel.text = @"Scanning...";

    [self addSubview:scanningLabel];

    [self performSelector:@selector(clearLabel:) withObject:scanningLabel afterDelay:2];

    [scanningLabel release];
}

- (void)clearLabel:(UILabel *)label {
    label.text = @"";
}

Notice that we have used an instance of ScanButton which we will get to next. When the ScanButton detects a UIControlEventTouchUpInside it calls the scanButtonTouchUpInside method which places a label on the screen for 2 seconds.

ScanButton

So finally we are left with our ScanButton. You might think that for a custom button we would subclass UIButton, but unless you really want to use the UIBUtton method setTitle:ForState it is recommended that you subclass UIControl. It will save you a world of hurt.

Here is the interface, ScanButton.h:

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>

@interface ScanButton : UIControl {
}

- (void)buttonPressed;

@end

I put the buttonPressed method in here for future use. It is meant to be used to change things related to the button itself and not the actions associated with the button in the OverlayViewController. You could for example use it to have the button’s image or state or both toggle.

Last but not least we have the implementation, ScanButton.m:

#import "ScanButton.h"

@implementation ScanButton

- (id)initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame {
    if (self = [super initWithFrame:frame]) {
	// Set button image:
	UIImageView *buttonImage = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 60, 30)];
	buttonImage.image = [UIImage imageNamed:@"scanbutton.png"];

	[self addTarget:self action:@selector(buttonPressed) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside]; // for future use

        [self addSubview:buttonImage];
    }
    return self;
}

- (void)buttonPressed {
    // TODO: Could toggle a button state and/or image
}

@end

So there you have it. A custom camera overlay and a custom button. I hope that with this code you will be well on your way to writing much more useful, interesting and creative apps than this example. Happy coding!

I have made my iPhone app iWasHere free for a limited time to encourage more users to start creating networks with their friends.

Creating a new network

Augment your reality with iWasHere!

iWasHere is a geo-locational social networking message board. iWasHere allows you to create an augmented reality by enabling you to leave a message at a specific location which can then only be read at that location. You can write to a Public network that is readable and writable by everyone, or you can create your own private networks for just you and your friends.

Use iWasHere to leave a note for a friend at a bus stop, outside their work or in a park. Read or write reviews of stores and restaurants right outside their doors. Make a virtual community message board in your neighborhood. Hide directions to a secret party or a surprise proposal. Create a treasure hunt that uses virtual clues or do virtual geocaching. iWasHere can be whatever you want it to be. The only limit is your imagination!

Get it while it is free!

Augment your reality with iWasHere!

After a long wait my geo-locational social networking message board iPhone app iWasHere is finally available for purchase on the App Store.

iWasHere iPhone app

iWasHere is a geo-locational social networking message board. iWasHere allows you to create an augmented reality by enabling you to leave a message at a specific location which can then only be read at that location. You can write to a Public network that is readable and writable by everyone, or you can create your own private networks for just you and your friends.

Use iWasHere to leave a note for a friend at a bus stop, outside their work or in a park. Read or write reviews of stores and restaurants right outside their doors. Make a virtual community message board in your neighborhood. Hide directions to a secret party or a surprise proposal. Create a treasure hunt that uses virtual clues or do virtual geocaching. iWasHere can be whatever you want it to be. The only limit is your imagination!

I am happy to announce that my Pachube feed organizer/viewer application PachubeMon is now available as a free download on the App Store. It was also announced on the Pachube blog on Monday.

PachubeMon iPhone app

Pachube is a web service available at pachube.com that enables you to connect, tag and share real time sensor data from objects, devices, buildings and environments around the world.

PachubeMon is a utility app for the iPhone that lets you manage and view your Pachube feeds all in one place. The main page allows you to add and remove feeds. By selecting a feed from the list you can view it. You can find feed IDs on the Pachube website here.

For a fascinating deeper look at Pachube and the concepts around it, check out the amazing article and interview here.