Show HN: I have built an app that identifies plug types like USB-C, HDMI or DP | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: I have built an app that identifies plug types like USB-C, HDMI or DP

apps.apple.com

6 pointsfinai3 comments

What did I build? I have built a convolutional neural network that identifies roughly 20 different plug types. I wrote most code with Keras on top of Tensorflow in Python. Afterwards I transformed the model to a .tflite file and embedded it in a swift app for iPhone.

Why am I showing this on HN? My goal for this summer is to transition industries. It’s a bold move that scares me from time to time. I have a rather broad background and I’m still trying to figure out my place in the world of coding in general and machine learning specifically. I hope I can start a discussion in this post about possibilities for people like me in the industry. Also I hope I can establish some contacts. And last but not least I would love to hear some honest feedback on my work.

About me My academic background includes a M.Sc. in materials engineering as well as an MBA from a leading business school in Germany. I have been working as a sales manager in the steel industry for three years. Previously I have worked as an engineer in the steel production for approximately six years. I first started coding in Python in 2019 because I wanted to learn something new after I finished my MBA. After finishing some basic courses I stumbled upon the course “Machine Learning” by Andrew Ng on Coursera which is an awesome introduction into the topic. I was fascinated and continued with several intermediary courses. Someday I had the idea to build a CNN that identifies plug types. It turned out that the model worked really well, so I thought about a way to make it accessible. That’s when I started to code in Swift and build an app around my neural network.

This is a really great idea, and something I may find myself often needing. However, having to create an account, or when not wanting to take that route, having to sign up for a free trial makes this a no-go for me.

Thanks for your reply. Actually you don't have to sign up. I should have made this more clear in this post or even in the app. When you click on "One week free trial" the app will save a boolean on User Defaults which saves the date of you taking the free trial. So no sign up is needed. So basically every time you delete the app you can get a free week again. I wanted to implement some sort of in app purchase but also let as many people as possible try the app. I'm thinking about making the app completely free with the next version. My most important point here is to get a feedback from people in the field.

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