Computer science student's color blindness inspires outfit matching app
Eric Langhorne developed the app through the Experiential Explorations Program
Eric Langhorne, a computer science undergraduate student at the University of Cincinnati, has developed a phone application that tells users whether or not their clothes are a match. Langhorne has color blindness, so this is a question he often asks himself and was a challenge he wanted to address.
Eric Langhorne is a transfer student at the University of Cincinnati studying computer science. Photo/Provided
Langhorne spent two years at a different university, changing his major several times, unsure what he wanted his future career path to be. He decided to take a step back from school and spend some time working. However, he knew he wanted to return to school eventually and computer science was in the back of his mind.
After researching programs nearby, he officially transferred to the University of Cincinnati. His decision was based on the reputation of the university's College of Engineering and Applied Science and the chance to get in-field experience through the cooperative education (co-op) program, where students alternate semesters in the classroom and semesters doing paid, full-time work.
Since he had a nontraditional start to his Bearcat journey and was still getting his footing in Cincinnati, he opted to participate in the Experiential Explorations Program instead of a traditional co-op for his first designated co-op semester. The program is an alternative to paid co-op positions, allowing students to gain experiences and build skills that align with their future career. It offers a variety of different routes for students. Langhorne chose to complete the professional practice option, which centers on a student-led project. Once it was settled, Langhorne was determined to create something that would have a real impact on real people.
"I wanted to do something that was a little more unique," Langhorne said. "I was thinking about problems that I face and the more I thought about it, the more color blindness came to mind."
As a child, his parents noticed that he had a hard time differentiating some colors. A teacher noticed as well, spoke to his parents about it, and they realized he had color blindness. While Langhorne said color blindness is not debilitating for him, it does create occasional problems.
"Growing up, I would show up to school in a silly outfit if I didn't ask my mom or sister if it matched. Creating the app seemed like a fun thing to do that could help people like me," he said.
With the Color Match app, users can upload a photo of an outfit, whether they're wearing it or have it laid out, and the app analyzes the image and tells them if it's a match.
Coming up with the idea was easy, the hard part was turning it into reality. He was relatively new to computer science, having only one full year of classwork completed. Throughout the development process, Will Hawkins, assistant professor educator in the Department of Computer Science, served as a mentor, guiding him and helping him through it.
Having never done anything like this before, the early stages of app development were primarily research, asking questions, and getting a basic understanding of how to create an app. Because Langhorne developed the app specifically for iPhone, he had to understand their programming language and how their user interface works before he could actually develop anything.
"It was a lot of Googling, a lot of asking Will Hawkins for recommendations, and a lot of trying stuff and figuring it out," Langhorne said.
Since he can't distinguish all colors himself, programming the app to tell users what matches consisted of a lot of math. The color wheel is designed to mathematically define color relationships, so Langhorne was able to use the angles of colors and their position on the wheel to program the app to recognize matches. After the code and program was developed, Langhorne spent ample time testing the app, putting together outfits that purposely didn't match to see its capabilities.
After the initial testing phase showed positive results, Langhorne submitted the app to Apple's testflight program. This program allowed him to have others test the app, get valuable feedback, and finetune it before it was officially released on the app store. Color Match: Outfit Analysis is officially free and available for anyone with an iPhone to download on the app store.
Featured image at top: Computer Science student developed Color Match: Outfit Analysis app to tell people if their clothes are a match. Photo/Pixabay
Related Stories
Engineering students showcase capstone projects at CEAS Expo
May 6, 2022
Graduating engineering undergraduates from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering and Applied Science gathered for the inaugural CEAS Expo in April to showcase their senior capstone projects to more than 500 attendees, including faculty, staff, alumni and industry representatives. The event, organized by the college and CEAS Tribunal student government, was held in downtown Cincinnati at the Duke Energy Convention Center.
Engineering students present at third annual Expo
April 24, 2024
This spring, senior students at the University of Cincinnati's College of Engineering and Applied Science came together to present their final capstone projects at the third annual CEAS Expo. College faculty, staff, alumni and industry professionals attended the event to witness the innovation that is created at CEAS.