Developers are the backbone of the mobile Internet ecosystem. They are tough and courageous. They adhere to the right values and believe that innovation can create value.
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AppSo invites great developers every week to talk to them about interesting and moving stories in the process of developing products.
One of the problems that each of us will encounter is that the picture is text. Exporting the data and text in the picture, which may have stumped many people a few years ago, if the tool is too expensive, the quality of the recognition result is too poor.
But with the development of the App market, a useful identification and translation tool was born. Among them, there is the “White Painting” developed by Tao Xinle. “White Painting” currently has 2 million users. In addition to high accuracy and low pricing, its proofreading and more editing functions are highly practical for student parties and writers.
Today, we invited Tao Xinle to let him talk to us about his product view and the story behind the development app.
Knowing Tao Xinle
Independent developer, formerly working in Beijing, worked as a senior R&D engineer in a state-owned enterprise. Because he didn’t want to be away from his girlfriend, he resigned as an independent developer. The product has a white drawing, two grapefruits, Xijiang month, white drawing characters, and Xiaoshi.
The number of registered users has exceeded 2 million. Have you ever thought that you will achieve such results?
I didn’t think about it at the time of development. The first time I started development was to give my girlfriend a note on the paper book to take notes. The software, after the completion of the release to the App Store is also a professional habit, I did not expect to be very popular after the release, insisted on getting the current user size.
In your mind, how many points will you give?
By 8 points out of 10 points, ask yourself, whether it is the design of the process or the realization of the actual function, it has achieved its own characteristics and stable color in this field. It is also possible to gain recognition from numerous users and platforms, such as the Golden Rice Award in the Xiaomi Market, the Pea Pod Design Award, the OPPO Application Time, and the App Store’s home page recommendation.
Of course, there are still some features that continue to improve in the plan, such as the identification of formulas, development on the PC side, and how to identify difficult images more accurately.
In a word, introduce the white drawing and its lightweight version.
White is a multi-platform universal OCR recognition and file scanning tool that efficiently performs text recognition, table recognition, long image recognition, file scanning, and image synthesis PDF , color switching, batch processing, translation and other needs.
White drawing is a lightweight version of white drawing, specializing in text recognition, batch identification, translation and other needs.
When doing full-time independent development, why do you first think of developing a white drawing?
It’s a complete accidental, product inspiration from the conversation.
Girlfriends often take study notes, using the text recognition software on the market at the time, I feel that some of the identification process is cumbersome, members are too expensive, and the free recognition results are not Ok, so I thought I could give her a cool OCR recognition tool and quickly put it into action.
▲ Image from: unsplash
What challenges have you encountered when developing an OCR-enabled app under the conditions?
The main challenge is that it’s almost impossible to do your own recognition engine from scratch, so I researched the products of the vendors that can provide this service on the market. Contrast, I tried various pictures and various situations to find out which one is the best.
What are the usage scenarios for white drawing? Which groups of users do you have the most?
There are quite a lot of scenes, such as taking a PPT to take notes, scanning a paper contract into an electronic version, and making a PDF, converting a paper form into Excel. The electronic version, the text on the translated picture, the teacher can be used to re-process the test after the test is identified, and the lawyer uses the text on the paper document.
From the feedback of users, text workers, students, and lawyers often use white papers.
▲ Image from: unsplash
There will be mistakes in the text-to-text, how do you make up for it?
Before recognizing, we will do some technical processing to ensure the clarity of the image and make it easier to identify.
After identification, the proofreading function of the drawing can make the recognition result appear on the same interface as the original image, and the user can also find the place to be modified. Edit on.
How do you optimize the recognition of the white drawing?
Think about the main points:
- Image compression to ensure clarity and minimize image size;
- Ripple filtering, sometimes there are some disturbing ripples on the computer screen, which should be optimized;
- Long image auto cropping, detecting that the blank line position of the long image is automatically cropped and will not crop the text;
- Remove the messy background. Some thinner papers will reveal the word recognition on the back, and users can switch colors to remove those interference factors;
- Automatic segmentation, automatic segmentation of articles, making them easier to read;
- Free selection of districts, many people have the need to recognize the diverse types of typesetting, such as the typesetting of newspapers, and the east part of the text, you can use the function of free selection to draw the parts that need to be identified. , the white drawing will be identified in the order of the painting .
In addition to being able to identify documents, you can also scan your documents. How do you make it smarter?
The main reason is to automatically detect the boundary, because we can’t avoid the cutting and correction during the scanning, we try to be more automated, of course, there is still much room for improvement in the accuracy of detecting the boundary.
In addition, in the later planning, we will make the description of the document type smarter. When scanning, we will judge whether it is an ID card or a business license or Other documents for more targeted follow-up operations.
How long does it take to maintain or update?
Large feature updates may occur once every two months, and others should be updated as soon as possible if there is an urgent problem.
How do you build a good user feedback mechanism?
At present, the public number feedback through email and white text can basically reply and process the user’s mail and public message within 6 hours.
Why do you think that OCR recognizes, translates, and scans?
The first is that the process is simpler, and when you open it, you go straight to the topic; the second is that the recognition accuracy is really high, becauseThere are a lot of recognition engines on the market, and the most expensive ones are used. The third is reasonable price and high cost performance. Many apps of the same type are subscription systems, hundreds of pieces a year. The most advanced members are only 30, and they are permanent. The key is to better identify them.
▲ Image from: unsplash
After the white drawing, you also developed two grapefruits. How did this idea come about?
This idea still comes from the needs of your girlfriend, because you need to do independent creation.Free and efficient scheduling and recording time, the current time management software on the market, she is not very easy to use, so she designed one. Of course, when I first met her, I wanted to make an app for her to push her work. She was really talented. I did not expect that I could finally achieve my wish by saving the country like this.
Introscribe two grapefruits in one sentence.
Two grapefruits are a time recorder for you to get along with your time, with schedules, to-do reminders, diaries, and so much Different aesthetics – atmosphere music full of stories and freshly updated wallpapers every day.
Is it done by you and your girlfriend, Bai Lingqi?
Yes, product design, UI design are all done by her, I just knocked on the code.
Besides the time management features of the two grapefruits, the biggest feature is that it has its own content – dailyReplaced wallpapers and constantly updated ambient music, these wallpapers are all original girlfriends, including photography, painting, and each week to draw a special painting. The atmosphere music and the schedule reminder ringtones are also entirely created by her. She plays the piano, goes outside to collect some natural sounds, and writes the story that happened at that time. Every atmosphere in the two grapefruits has its own story.
▲ Image from: unsplash
How long did it take to get an idea and go online?
This is quite a long time, more than a year.
Is it difficult to develop two grapefruits?
Development is not the biggest difficulty, mainly because it is logically more perfect, and I want to integrate the features she wants on an app. It doesn’t seem cumbersome. She will design the function. The difficulty is actually the persistence of the content, such as collecting sound and insisting on updating the wallpaper every day. This is a kind of “sweet burden.”
Two grapefruits have both diary and to-do tools, and are more literary and alternative to the App on the market. How do you “teach” users? in use?
There is no teaching yet, and more is to explore and discover by users themselves.What you can do is make the app easier to use, people-oriented, and get started. Later, you will also consider adding some boots to unlock more tips.
Click here to see AppSo’s assessment of Two Grapefruits.
What eggs have you buried in this app?
For example, the name of the app, two grapefruits, the stem from I want to see you, I want two grapefruits / I want to see you. A love story (shame).
In fact, there are some fun eggs, such as a description of a certain atmosphere sound. For example, if you light up the wallpaper of the day, you will get two grapefruits. I also expect the user to find more eggs in the details.
Do you have plans to develop an Android version of two grapefruits?
There is a plan, but there is no energy at the moment, because there will be a big change after the iOS version.
What other apps are you making together?Do the App together, what is your biggest feeling?
There are already finished products in white and two grapefruits. There are several models in the collision of ideas. The name icon and positioning have just been discussed. .
Working together, we can just do what we are better at, and it feels like this is “the perfect lineup all over the world”, able to work with your girlfriend. A product is a very rare experience. Enhancing feelings and understanding each other’s ideas in a timely manner are all by-products.
How do you run the two grapefruits under iOS 13? Will you consider adding dark mode next?
There is currently a normal operation on iOS 13, and the dark mode of the white drawing has been adapted and will be released soon. I still consider whether two grapefruits need to be added deep. Color mode.
Re-introducing your other apps!
The first is “Xi Jiang Yue”, a poetry software that meets a poem / word every day, so you can read it inadvertently. itsYou can also view poems by category, search for poems, and collect poems. The app has a very simple interface with a touch of antiques, perfect for friends who like to read poetry. Xijiang Yue is also a frequent visitor to the App Store.
The other is “Time”, a world time viewing software that allows you to see the current time, sunrise, sunset, and location in the world in different cities. .
How do you make your app more like your app?
The user’s heart is also made of meat. It is very open to the user’s feedback, and communicates in a timely manner, reflecting the results in the progress of the product. The other is to add some personal thoughts in the details of the product, and the user will feel it.
How do you judge your strengths and integrate with the industry?
Patience and empathy are said to be the place to impress your girlfriend. You also need to do the app. You can think about the problem from the perspective of the user. From a personal idea to a later use by more and more people, the product can’t be done without particularly tenacious patience.
What opportunities and challenges do you think exist in the current App market?
Opportunity I think it’s getting easier to make an app. There are a lot of ready-made frameworks and open source code. If you have any good ideas, do it now.
Challenging I think there are so many, one is that the promotion cost is getting higher and higher, the independent developer’s energy is limited, how can more users know their own Products; second, piracy, anti-piracy road is difficult, as developers also need to fight against piracy to protect the legitimate rights of legitimate users (and their own).
Apple opened the “Design Development Accelerator” in Shanghai, China in June.understood?
I understand that I feel that Apple is paying more and more attention to developers, but I don’t know how to contact…
If you join, what support do you want Apple to provide?
Mainly technical and promotional aspects.
Last talk about your life, what are the ways to get inspiration?
Reading, surfing the internet, experiencing other people’s products, etc. may be inspired.
▲ Image from: Unsplash
How is the workflow determined when you work with your girlfriend?
It’s a very natural decision. She mainly works on product design, UI design and her own creations, such as painting and writing articles. I am mainly responsible for technology implementation and product operation. And promotion.
Get a wave of work after getting up, then go to breakfast (most of the time yourself), continue working, lunch (do it most of the time), continue working, exercise, Dinner (do it all the time), read, sleep.
Occasionally give yourself a holiday, go out and eat what others do, she will take pictures, collect sounds, I am responsible for taking the bag.
What do you like best when you develop your work?
Look at movies, cook, research new dishes, travel and wind.
Can you talk about your favorite game?
Recently, I like to use the “Wild Cars” to relax. I used to play “Wild Cars 8” and now I play “Wild Cars 9”.
Can you share the first screen of your phone with us and see your favorite apps?
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