Wotsin

Project Overview

Wotsin is a native Android application that helps users investigate ingredients and additives in packaged foods. It combines barcode scanning, optical character recognition and an offline product database with configurable alerts.

I independently designed, developed, tested and published the application, including the supporting tools required to prepare and maintain its product database.

Application Screenshots

Wotsin combines barcode scanning, optical character recognition and configurable ingredient alerts to help users examine packaged food products.

Technical Challenges

Combining Barcode Scanning and OCR

Product barcode data is not always available or complete. Wotsin therefore combines barcode lookup with OCR-based ingredient scanning, providing an alternative way to examine product information.

Image preprocessing and capture workflow improvements were important parts of making OCR practical for everyday use.

Building a Large Offline Database

The application includes an indexed SQLite product database containing more than 500,000 products, allowing product information to be retrieved without requiring a continuous internet connection.

Preparing this database involved processing approximately 60 GB of source data, transforming and filtering it into a mobile database of approximately 350 MB.

Mobile Performance and Storage

Database size, query performance and application responsiveness required careful attention. The implementation uses SQLite indexes and supporting database-management techniques suited to Android devices.

Engineering Approach

The Android application was developed primarily in Kotlin, with Java components and supporting libraries where appropriate.

Supporting data-processing utilities were developed using Java, Python and shell scripting to transform source data into a format suitable for the mobile application.

The project also involved application testing, debugging, performance optimisation, database packaging, Google Play deployment and ongoing maintenance.

Wotsin in Action

This demonstration shows Wotsin's barcode scanning, ingredient recognition, product search and configurable additive alerts.

Short demonstration of Wotsin's barcode scanning and ingredient analysis. English subtitles included.

Technologies

Result

Wotsin was completed and published on Google Play as a commercial Android application. The finished product combines on-device scanning, configurable ingredient alerts and a substantial offline product database.