Blabgen
=======

2014-06-26

Changing installation from Debian to Ansible.
The debian directory is still there, but might
not be in synk with the ansible directory.
Sorry about that.


2012-05-08

A system to let visitors register their visit, take a picture of themselves and
automatically have it printed to a visitor's badge.

HOW IT WORKS

Blabgen has three parts:

1. Frontend (web interface) - the user interface that the visitor uses.
2. Backend (REST style API) - communicates with database and badge printer.
3. Admin web interface - used by reception desk.

The frontend runs in a web browser (Firefox), with an attached Axis network
camera.

The visitor starts by entering name, company and who to visit. The Axis
network camera is then used to take a picture of the visitor. The visitor can
adjust the camera height and take new pictures until the result is satisfactory.

When done, the visitor's picture, along with the name and the visiting date,
is printed on a badge for the visitor to pick up at the reception desk,
using a special badge printer. Also, an e-mail is sent to those that are
visited.

When the visitor leaves, the badge is returned to the reception desk, and the
badge number is entered in the system using the admin web interface.

The reception (who manages the printer) can also view who is currently
visiting the company from the web interface.

The frontend communicates with the backend over HTTP. This means a single
backend can serve multiple frontends from a separate machine, if needed. The
backend and frontend can also run on the same machine. All user information is
stored in a MySQL database, user pictures are stored on the file system.

The Axis network camera is accessed over the network, so it does not have to
be connected to any specific machine.


INSTALLATION

TODO write installation instructions.


CONFIGURATION

TODO write configuration instructions.


HISTORY

This system was originally written by Kristofer Johansson when he was working
for Axis Communications AB during his summer vacation in 1997.

After that, no major changes were done until Jörgen Hägg rewrote some code to
adapt it to an inkjet instead of the original Dymo printer.  He also rewrote
the admin web page.

By 2011 the system looked and felt out of date. The original tcl/tk user
interface was clumsy and unattractive by modern standards. Thus, David Högberg
was tasked to make a big overhaul. This resulted in a frontend/backend split,
with a user interface made in HTML 5/JavaScript and a PHP backend. Also,
Jörgen Hägg rewrote some code to print visitor cards on a dedicated badge
printer. Functionality wise, not much was changed.