Design-Based Research Capstone

Granolaa Capstone

A Research Through Design capstone for a local-first monitoring and live streaming tool that exposes screen and webcam streams over local HTTP URLs for classroom proctoring and supervision.

Granolaa - Local-First Screen and Webcam Monitoring
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In Development / Testing
Project Leads Aadi Bhat, Pranav Santhosh, Nolan Hightower

Granolaa

Local-First Monitoring Without Cloud Dependencies

Live screen capture (MJPEG) over local HTTP
Live webcam feed streaming without cloud infrastructure
Lightweight Java application with Maven packaging
Browser-accessible endpoints for same-LAN devices
Multi-device stream support for simultaneous monitoring
Scalable 3-tier architecture (client/server/frontend)
Tested with 25+ concurrent client streams
Auto-reconnect for reliable network handling
Java Client (Maven, JavaCV/OpenCV) Node.js Backend (WebSocket Manager) Browser-based Web Interface MJPEG Streaming over HTTP Stream Multiplexing & Quality Adjustment Auto-reconnect Protocol Cross-platform compatible

About

Granolaa is a local monitoring application that streams live screen and webcam feeds over local HTTP URLs, viewable in any browser without cloud infrastructure, accounts, or external services. Through iterative Research Through Design cycles with educators, the system evolved from a monolithic prototype into a scalable production system. Initial user interviews identified needs for multi-device support, low-barrier entry, real-time monitoring, and privacy controls. Architecture was redesigned to separate client capture, server streaming, and browser frontend—improving performance by 60% and enabling 25+ concurrent streams. Performance optimization cycles adopted 30fps with dynamic quality adjustment, balancing bandwidth constraints with classroom usability. Webcam integration was added for hybrid scenarios.

Impact

Lightweight alternative to heavyweight proctoring tools
Transparent and locally-inspectable monitoring solution
60% performance improvement through architecture redesign
Reliable scaling to 25+ concurrent monitored streams
30% improvement in browser performance per client
Acceptable quality with minimal bandwidth (500 Kbps–1.2 Mbps per stream)
Validated through real classroom deployments
Strong foundation for recording and playback features
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