I posted this earlier, but I'm not sure anyone saw it...
Here's a functional prototype of what I mentioned last week.
http://fruitpie.blastpoint.com/woodsearchform.php
It's only got 8 woods in the database right now, but it gives you an
idea.
Right now, I'm envisioning two major improvements. First, instead of a
one-page form with all of the questions on it, I'm thinking of having
one question per page, where you go through them one at a time. The
advantage here would be that each page could have some images which
describe the question. For example, there could be a set of images
that indicate what is meant by "faint rings" versus "distinct rings",
etc.
The other improvement that I'd like to make is to make it easy for a
set of users of the system to be able to add new woods but, more
importantly, to give their vote on the properties of existing woods.
Then, the system would average everybody's votes to arrive at a value
for that wood.
And a third idea that I just had is to have the user indicate whether
they're trying to identify a veneer, some flatsawn, or some
quartersawn wood, since the presence of rays, rings, and pores could
be different between these different cuts for the same wood.
Any other suggestions for moving forward with this? Some additional
questions to add to the database, or some other UI ideas?
- Joe
Here's another good link of a similar nature:
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/indextotal.htm
Vic
"P van Rijckevorsel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Joe Emenaker <[email protected]> schreef
> > I posted this earlier, but I'm not sure anyone saw it...
>
> > Here's a functional prototype of what I mentioned last week.
>
> > http://fruitpie.blastpoint.com/woodsearchform.php
>
> > It's only got 8 woods in the database right now, but it gives you an
> > idea.
>
> + + +
> You would have to start by saying something on the limitations. Actual
wood
> identification by database is not really possible, not even with best
> database possible. Any search result has to be compared to an actual wood
> sample. And even then you have to know what to look for.
>
> Second, you would have to indicate what kinds of woods are in your
database,
> such as "important US domestic woods", "woods sold at the Borg".
>
> Third, it is the heartwood that is colored (or not). Sapwood is (usually)
> uncolored, the whitish or yellowish color is the basicstuff that all wood
> consists of. A secondary color would rather be an extra color in the
> heartwood.
>
> Fourth, color is only usable at a-rule-of-thumb level. Only when color is
> exceptional is it useful in indicating identity. A really bright purple
will
> be purpleheart in better than 95%, etc.
>
> You will need pictures anyway to get anywhere.
> PvR
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Joe Emenaker <[email protected]> schreef
> I posted this earlier, but I'm not sure anyone saw it...
> Here's a functional prototype of what I mentioned last week.
> http://fruitpie.blastpoint.com/woodsearchform.php
> It's only got 8 woods in the database right now, but it gives you an
> idea.
+ + +
You would have to start by saying something on the limitations. Actual wood
identification by database is not really possible, not even with best
database possible. Any search result has to be compared to an actual wood
sample. And even then you have to know what to look for.
Second, you would have to indicate what kinds of woods are in your database,
such as "important US domestic woods", "woods sold at the Borg".
Third, it is the heartwood that is colored (or not). Sapwood is (usually)
uncolored, the whitish or yellowish color is the basicstuff that all wood
consists of. A secondary color would rather be an extra color in the
heartwood.
Fourth, color is only usable at a-rule-of-thumb level. Only when color is
exceptional is it useful in indicating identity. A really bright purple will
be purpleheart in better than 95%, etc.
You will need pictures anyway to get anywhere.
PvR
Vic Baron <[email protected]> schreef
> Here's another good link of a similar nature:
> http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/indextotal.htm
+ + +
Glad to see somebody is reading my "Micro-FAQ on wood"! ;-)
That site is quite different in concept, but it certainly does not lack
pictures.
PvR
Joe Emenaker wrote:
> Here's a functional prototype of what I mentioned last week.
>
> http://fruitpie.blastpoint.com/woodsearchform.php
This is a pretty cool idea, but when I ran it I got this:
Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL
result resource in /var/www/fruitpie.blastpoint.com/woodsearch.php on
line 20
> Right now, I'm envisioning two major improvements. First, instead of a
> one-page form with all of the questions on it, I'm thinking of having
> one question per page, where you go through them one at a time. The
> advantage here would be that each page could have some images which
> describe the question. For example, there could be a set of images
> that indicate what is meant by "faint rings" versus "distinct rings",
> etc.
Good idea for low-bandwidth users, but splitting it up across different
pages makes going back to change your answers something of a pain -- you
may have to backtrack through a -lot- of pages.
> The other improvement that I'd like to make is to make it easy for a
> set of users of the system to be able to add new woods but, more
> importantly, to give their vote on the properties of existing woods.
> Then, the system would average everybody's votes to arrive at a value
> for that wood.
Interesting idea. Many expert eyes makes for an accurate expert system.
> And a third idea that I just had is to have the user indicate whether
> they're trying to identify a veneer, some flatsawn, or some
> quartersawn wood, since the presence of rays, rings, and pores could
> be different between these different cuts for the same wood.
Very good point. I can see you've been thinking about this.
The pictures of wood specimens at
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/archives/forestry/hough/ are sorely in need of search
functionality like you're describing. I wonder if NCSU would be interested in
cooperating with your venture. Of course, additional species would be nice...
Regarding your prototype: I agree that pictures would help in answering the
questions, but a long sequence of pages would be frustrating. Perhaps you could
have a main page that has all the questions/selections, each question then has a
link to a "details" page if you want/need more information (pictures, etc.)
about answering that specific question.
Also, the heartwood is usually the 'primary' wood, the sapwood 'secondary'. And
there are usually at least two colors to a piece of wood, a background color and
a grain color.
JeffB
Oh - not to mislead - never read a thing - just like the pictures! Just
kidding :)
"P van Rijckevorsel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Vic Baron <[email protected]> schreef
> > Here's another good link of a similar nature:
>
> > http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/indextotal.htm
>
> + + +
> Glad to see somebody is reading my "Micro-FAQ on wood"! ;-)
> That site is quite different in concept, but it certainly does not lack
> pictures.
> PvR
>
>
>
>
>
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>
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>