Project Roadmap

About 4 min

Project Roadmap

Last Updated: January 2, 2026

Audio Ninja is a wireless immersive audio platform with IAMF support. This roadmap tracks development progress across three major phases.

Current Status
Phase 1: Foundation (✅ Complete)
Phase 2: GUI Enhancement (🚧 In Progress)
Phase 3: Backend Implementation (⏳ Planned)
Future Work
Timeline

Current Status

Component	Status	Progress	Next Milestone
Core Architecture	✅ Complete	100%	Phase 2 GUI
REST API	✅ Complete	100%	Integration
CLI/TUI	✅ Complete	100%	Maintenance
GUI	🚧 In Progress	60%	Phase 2c
Audio Backends	⏳ Planned	0%	Phase 3

Recent Achievements:

✅ Fixed all CI/CD pipeline issues
✅ Documentation site deployed
✅ GUI Phase 2 planning complete
✅ 293 tests passing, 80%+ coverage
✅ 10 layout presets (2.0 through 9.1.6)
✅ 5 stats sub-endpoints (network, latency, daemon, sync, audio-levels)
✅ GUI toast notifications, keyboard shortcuts, drag-drop, localStorage
✅ WCAG accessibility pass (ARIA roles, focus-visible)
✅ CI code coverage job enabled
✅ OpenAPI spec updated with all I/O and stats endpoints

Phase 1: Audio I/O Architecture ✅ COMPLETE

Duration: 8 weeks | Effort: 80 hours | Completed: December 2025

Deliverables

Core Implementation (10 items)

✅ Input source enumeration (System/App/External)
✅ Output device abstraction (Speaker/Headphones/USB/HDMI)
✅ InputManager with device selection
✅ OutputManager with device lifecycle
✅ PlaybackStream & CaptureStream traits
✅ REST API endpoints (7 total)
✅ Daemon integration
✅ CLI commands (input/output/transport)
✅ TUI screens with device panels
✅ Unit tests (18 tests)

Quality Metrics

✅ 293 tests passing
✅ 80%+ code coverage
✅ Clippy: 0 warnings
✅ Rustdoc: 0 errors
✅ CI/CD: All checks passing

Outcome: Production-ready architecture with complete test coverage and documentation.

Phase 2: GUI Refactoring & Branding 🚧 IN PROGRESS

Duration: 5 weeks | Effort: 40-50 hours | Status: In Progress (~60%)

Overview

Transform the GUI from functional prototype to professional audio workstation with:

✨ Magma Orange branding and professional logo
🎛️ Complete audio I/O controls
📊 Real-time visualization and stats
🎨 Responsive design and accessibility

Sub-Phases

Phase 2a: Logo & Color Scheme ✅ MOSTLY COMPLETE

Priority: 🔴 HIGH | Effort: 5-7 hours | Week: 1

✅ Logo design complete (assets/logo.png)
✅ Magma Orange theme designed (WCAG AA verified)
✅ CSS component templates created
✅ CSS theme variables implemented
✅ Toast notifications, transitions, hover effects
✅ WCAG accessibility (ARIA roles, focus-visible)
🚧 Logo integration in header

Details: GUI Phase 2 Tasks - Section 2a

Phase 2b: I/O & Transport Panel

Priority: 🔴 HIGH | Effort: 8-10 hours | Week: 2

✅ REST API endpoints ready
✅ Device selection dropdowns (wired to API)
✅ Audio source routing interface
✅ File loader with drag-drop support
✅ Transport mode selector with localStorage
✅ Error handling & toast feedback
✅ Keyboard shortcuts (Space, Escape, 1-7, Ctrl+O)

Details: GUI Phase 2 Tasks - Section 2b

Phase 2c: Visualization & Calibration

Priority: 🟡 MEDIUM | Effort: 8-10 hours | Week: 3

🚧 3D speaker layout canvas
🚧 Layout editor (drag-drop)
🚧 Calibration sweep controls
🚧 IR curve visualization
🚧 Filter design preview

Details: GUI Phase 2 Tasks - Section 2c

Phase 2d: Stats Dashboard & Polish

Priority: 🟡 MEDIUM | Effort: 10-12 hours | Week: 4-5

✅ Real-time metrics dashboard (wired to 5 stats endpoints)
✅ Audio level meters with peak hold
✅ Network bandwidth display
✅ Latency statistics display
✅ Daemon CPU/memory monitoring
🚧 Speaker status monitoring
🚧 Network bandwidth graphs (Chart.js)
🚧 Cross-platform testing
🚧 Responsive design optimization

Details: GUI Phase 2 Tasks - Section 2d

Success Criteria

Phase 3: Backend Audio I/O Implementation ⏳ PLANNED

Duration: 3-4 months | Effort: 95-135 hours | Start: February 2026

Overview

Implement real audio I/O with platform-specific backends and codec support.

Components

3.1 ALSA Bindings (Linux)

Priority: 🔴 HIGH | Effort: 20-30 hours

⏳ ALSA PCM device I/O
⏳ Device enumeration
⏳ Format negotiation
⏳ Integration tests

3.2 PulseAudio Bindings

Priority: 🟡 MEDIUM | Effort: 15-20 hours

⏳ Sink/source abstractions
⏳ App-specific routing
⏳ Default device fallback
⏳ Integration tests

3.3 CoreAudio Bindings (macOS)

Priority: 🟡 MEDIUM | Effort: 20-30 hours

⏳ HAL device abstractions
⏳ Device enumeration
⏳ Headphone/speaker detection
⏳ macOS testing

3.4 FFmpeg Codec Support

Priority: 🟡 MEDIUM | Effort: 25-35 hours

⏳ Codec bindings (Opus, AAC, FLAC, AC-3, E-AC-3, TrueHD)
⏳ Streaming demux/decode
⏳ Format auto-detection
⏳ Performance profiling

3.5 Testing & Optimization

Priority: 🟡 MEDIUM | Effort: 15-20 hours

⏳ Backend-specific unit tests
⏳ Real device integration tests
⏳ Latency profiling (<50ms target)
⏳ Cross-platform validation
⏳ 99% reliability verification

Success Criteria

All 4 backends functional (ALSA, PulseAudio, CoreAudio, FFmpeg)
<50ms end-to-end latency
99% packet delivery reliability
Support major audio formats
Cross-platform tests on 3+ platforms
Performance benchmarks documented

Future Work

High Priority (Post-Phase 3)

📋 libiamf/AOM reference decoder integration
📋 Dolby Atmos metadata parser
📋 WiFi Direct peer-to-peer mode
📋 Sample-accurate sync (±1ms)

Medium Priority

📋 RTSP session management
📋 Adaptive bitrate streaming
📋 Firmware update mechanism
📋 Advanced calibration verification

Community & Ecosystem

📋 C API for embedded integration
📋 Python bindings
📋 Example applications
📋 Video tutorials
📋 Community contribution guide

Timeline

January 2026:
  ├─ Week 1-2: Phase 2a (Logo & Theme) [5-7h]
  ├─ Week 2-3: Phase 2b (I/O Controls) [8-10h]
  ├─ Week 3-4: Phase 2c (Visualization) [8-10h]
  └─ Week 4-5: Phase 2d (Stats & Polish) [10-12h]

February-March 2026:
  ├─ Phase 3.1: ALSA Bindings [20-30h]
  ├─ Phase 3.2: PulseAudio [15-20h] (parallel)
  ├─ Phase 3.3: CoreAudio [20-30h] (parallel)
  └─ Phase 3.4: FFmpeg [25-35h] (parallel)

April 2026:
  └─ Phase 3.5: Testing & Optimization [15-20h]

May 2026+:
  └─ Future work & backlog items