what can I expect to pay to have this software created?

Question

I own a drapery showroom and would like the ability to upload pics of peoples windows to a program, and show them what their room would look like with different products.

I would like to..
use approx 70 different products(drapes,shades,rods)
be able to tweak the colors of each product with precision
overlay up to 5 products on 1 window
etc etc

Is there existing software that can accomplish this, that can just be tweaked to do what I want done? How long would it take a skilled professional to create this software and what could I expect to pay?

I would assume, a big part would be collecting the images needed to make the sofware, lets assume this task is complete.

I understand there are many factors to consider, I just dont know where to begin.

Any help or advise is appreciated

Answer 1

Yes there are software creation companies who do just this kind of thing and do it very well. I suspect that the cost would be completely unthinkable for you (you say you own A drapery showroom) if you had a chain of say 30 or more stores the cost might be realistic for you. However, if your industry has any big chains using such software that is non-proprietal, or someone has already had such software created, you might get an off-priced deal, but still you're looking at a very high cost. If you go to most tire store chains you will find that they usually have similar software that is used to allow customers to see how different wheels would look on their vehicle. This is essentially the same idea but has the advantage of a fixed data base of known, common vehicles and of course, the wheels the dealer sells. Adding the ability to say, scan in pics, or use digital pics, and then morph the images with your products as you describe would be very expensive indeed! In conclusion: what you describe is exactly the kind of thing established software companies love to do and do very well the problem for you is simply one of cost. You would end up having to charge an extra $10,000 fee per client and do it ten times a month to come out as a small business on something like this. Doing window treatments the old fashioned way, but with stellar service and fantastic results, while dominating your available market share, is probably the best you hope for now!

Answer 2

it is not a simple job to "tweak the color" of something that has multiple shades or multiple colors in it, you are better off having a product database of photos. If you can get a hold of a product database, you *might* be able eliminate a lot of things.



things to cojnsider:

- view angles, view position (is this in any way shape or form 3D, like the Valences or Rods or Drapes?)

- dimensions of window

- it's not going to look perfect without a LOT of tweaking and photoshopping

- drapes, rods, and such products' photos come in the dimensions they came in, not the size you want - more photoshopping (you are simply going to have to squeeze them, I don't think any of photoshop's tricks that I have seen will help here, then again, I am a PS CS5 noob)

- getting photos is going to be a hassle - where are you going to find a lit of 70 different houses to take photos in, and people will allow it? I still suggest a product database from the manufacturers. they may have them online and you simply use some sort of API (Application Programming Interface, in other words, programming software function calls) to access them.

- this is going to require a LOT of testing, tweaking, and debug time, at least for the images.



for me, coding the site would take about 2-3 days max. making it look snappy by paying for and adding stock images would take longer.



I know I could not do this project unless it was a web application. I think I could do a web application. the problem is with web applications there is usually a monthly fee, however, yours would be small enough to not require this, you would be able to do this for free using a .cc or .tk domain and http://www.100webspace.com/ for $0.99/mo with no ads and you get 100MB with is more than enough space for your images and PHP code.

you might even choose instead to host your site on http://yola.com for a more professional look for $349+$49/mo and see if their HP web designers can do the job for you.



working remotely presents challenges. presenting site designs that please the customer may or may not be a simple task. I am NOT a professional Web Designer. I am a Web Programmer and Software Engineer with intermediate web design skills. I can't do this job because I am not licensed for your area, just my area. bummer. I will help you out the best I can.



doing this with a software application (you didn't say windows or mac or some flavor of linux):

+ not taking up monthly money

- maintenance could be a bear if someone changes the API, which might mean it could cost $80 or $800

+ Open Source Software is free if you can get it developed as such, but please be nice and donate to the developer. that's his salary. otherwise, they would have to change their business model. The workman is worthy of his hire.

[- development is going to be long, likely bug-ridden, and expensive. I would not be surprised if you get quoted the price the guy with the first answer quoted.]

Answer 3

To be completely honest a program as such would never work the exact way you would want it to. There are just too many variables. The pictures that you would be taking would have to be at a very specific angle each time and the computer would have a tough time applying the drapes to the picture to making it look believable.



Also every product you have would need to be photographed and edited in such a way that it would be transparent to the customers home photo.



My suggestion would be to hire someone with some photoshop experience to do this for each of your clients because I can tell you with 100% confidence that this software could easily cost $10,000+ depending on how good you want the results to be.

Answer 4

what about DVD Shrink 3.2? I'm pretty sure you can burn dvds. You can transfer dvds on to your computer. Its free.... I don't think you can create your own menus...