Author Topic: BridgeDealer App Release  (Read 1532 times)

johng

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 214
    • View Profile
BridgeDealer App Release
« on: March 13, 2020, 19:14:12 »
There is a new app called BridgeDealer available for download from the link on this page of the BridgePal website (the app is not yet on the google play store). BridgeDealer can be installed on android devices running android version 4.4 or later.

BridgeDealer allows manual dealing of preset hands created by a random deal generator or downloaded from a website. It uses the phone or tablet's front camera to recognise the suit and value of each playing card in a deck. It directs the user whether to place the card in the N,S,W,or E hand. Since the device views the card from underneath the bottom of the deck, the user does not see which cards are being dealt to which hand. With practice, it is possible to deal a deck of cards in less than a minute. There is a link to a YouTube video demonstrating this on the page referenced above.

At the moment this is a standalone app but we are in the process of integrating it into the next release of BridgePal. This may be of interest to clubs that do not have a dealing machine, currently shuffle hands at the table before Round 1, and then manually record them via BridgePal. There will be a Deal button on the contract entry screen which can be used to invoke BridgeDealer in order to deal the current board before it is played at the first table. The app also provides a Read function, which will be able to read a manually shuffled deck of cards into BridgePal.

BridgeDealer is a further development and enhancement of an earlier app called Bridge Card Dealing, which was developed by Frank Wolf of Germany for PlayBridgeWorld. It is largely a rewrite of the original app, including enhancements to Frank's card recognition module. I have taken over development of the app with agreement that it can be distributed free of charge to users.

I will not be issuing further release notes for this app until it is integrated with BridgePal, though I may upload new versions. I would be interested to receive any user feedback by email, for example which makes of card it can or cannot read. The following is a selection of card brands which have been tested with the app, and which were successfully recognised:

- Carta Mundi
- Jannersten bar coded (the app reads the symbols, not the bar codes)
- Piatnik
- Mr Bridge
- Waddingtons
- English Bridge Union
- PlayBridgeWorld
- AL Fleming
- Bridgemate
- Hong Kong

John
« Last Edit: March 13, 2020, 19:43:35 by johng »