Archaeologist Graphic Interface Update

After a meeting this week, we've decided on the applications that will be used for the 3D graphic interface project. Because Google Earth already has a geo-spacially oriented, properly scaled, navigable world built out of satellite images, we decided that it would be best to create a Google Earth layer with links to SONAR mosaics and 3D meshes for each site. This allows us to build the framework for our interface before the trip, and then fill the information from each site right after it is visited.

We plan to embed our Google Earth layer right into Sara's water and society website, and host all of our other files (3D cistern meshes, SONAR overlays, etc.) there as well. The embedded Google Earth layer will have pop up descriptions, pictures, and links to other information collected from each cistern. I will still be using an embedded Unity3D frame to display the 3D cistern meshes (slightly simpler than writing code in WebGL that would allow the 3D mesh file to be navigable by a camera, although it does require a browser plug-in unlike WebGL). This frame will also be hosted on the Omeka water and society website. I should have a samples up shortly! Stay tuned!

Winter Break

My winter break was quite busy, but during my spare time I did a little bit of work for ICEX. I am the scheduler for this trip and the program, so over the break I looked into ways to keep on top of it all to make sure all deadlines are met. Tyler gave me a link into a website called Trello and it seems like it's really going to help keep everything organized for me.

Also, I looked into using Google Earth to locate cistern sites. Unfortunately, I don't know much about Google Earth and wasn't able to figure out much. And lastly, I looked into a site called Omeka to use for my ICEX project. It seems like a good site in which to have a digital library and database for information we collect about Malta and its water and society.

This project using Omeka is targeted to be used to be a resource site for teachers and educators. It will (hopefully) have sources and information such that teachers can base lesson plans off of the information and resources on the website.

Winter Projects Update

The first project I worked on was researching options for salinity and temperature sensors that we could connect to our robot. I ended up writing a report that can be briefly summarized as follows:

The most used tool to collect salinity and temperature data with a VideoRay ROV is the YSI Sonde with Multiple Water Sensors. The main problems were that it was too large and too expensive. Another option was to build the sensors. I found freely available circuit diagrams for these sensors and looking at the parts they would require, building them would cost very little. The problem with this option was that whatever we make would not be guaranteed to work in our application and environment.

After the team read the report, it was agreed that the YSI Sonde with Multiple Water Sensors was too expensive and we would most likely need to build all our sensors. Fortunate for us, during the break Dr. Clark was contacted by an employee of the company that makes our ROV and was offered a temperature sensor. Currently the team is working on connecting our sensors to a microcontroller to better organize the collection of data.

The second project I worked on was the Google Earth project. This project is about displaying the cultural and scientific data, that we will be collecting in Malta and Sicily, in a way that is useful for archaeologist, marine biologists, teachers and students. I was specifically working on evaluating the application, Google Earth, as a practical way to disseminate our information. My findings supported the use of Google Earth as a way to connect geographical and location based data with the database of our scientific and cultural data. I also built an example web page connecting Google Earth with some of our older data that can be seen below.

Winter Break Progress

Over winter break I had two tasks. The first task was to do some investigation into Google Earth's ability to display our findings. The second was to get everything prepared for our labs at Pacheco. The progress I made towards these two projects is summarized below:

Google Earth

I'm convinced that Google Earth will be a sufficient tool for sharing our results. It has every feature that we need: html formatting, easy to link to files from databases, image/video embedding, descriptions of each site, underground depth/maps. Additionally, it is commonly used software, making it easier to spread our findings.

That said, there are a few things that I haven't figured out yet. I don't know how to share a google earth file so that multiple people can edit it at once (aside from e-mailing the other person the file). I think the program has this capability, but I haven't figured out how it works yet. Another problem is that when you create a map of a place below ground (cisterns are below ground) the polygon won't show up on a map embedded into a website. The last problem is that I can get an embedded video to work on MY copy of google earth, but can't get an embedded video working in an embedded blog post like this one. Anyways, problems aside, here is a little sample that I made up.

If you have the Google Earth plugin installed, you should be able to view this. The camera should pan to my house and you will see some information about it when you click it. If you double click "Erik's house", it will zoom in to street view. Additionally, you may click the green polygon on the ground to see an outline of my underground lab, and again, some information on that. As far as I can tell, this is what we need for the project.

Pacheco Labs

I received a copy of the powerpoints and lecture notes from last year, and have been discussing everything with Chris, Jane, and the teacher from Pacheco (Jill). Looks like we're all going to meet up as a group on Wednesday at 12:10 to talk about the curriculum and maybe do a run through of the first demo that we will do for Jill's class on week 2. The first demo is a discussion of robotics, engineering, and then a demo of a line follower robot.

Over break I borrowed a Lego Minstorms kit from professor John Chen to make a line following robot. I got him working, but just barely. I was testing him out on brown cardboard with black electrical tape and poor lighting, and Jill's classroom is black/grey carpet so we will need to use masking tape. I will be going to her classroom on Wednesday afternoon to test out this one. The bots that we will be using for the week 4 & 5 demos will be borrowed from Jill, and the bots for the week 6 & 7 demos are in the LAIR, but need some repairing. I'll get to that in a week or two. That just about wraps everything up for now. More from me later!

Oh, and here are a few bad photos of the bot that I made for the first lab.

Erik's Pre-Trip Learning Goals

Using what I know so far about ICEX, I have developed a few goals that I would like to have accomplished by the project's end. I'm sure that these learning goals will be revised as the quarter progresses, and I accept that there will be events that change my aim along the way that I have not yet considered. With that said, my pre-trip goals are the following:

I would like to gain enough knowledge of robotics and computer science principles to become a more well rounded systems engineer. In other words, I would like to be able to understand complex processes and systems that involve a variety of engineering disciplines. This is not a goal that can be perfected, but rather one that must be continuously worked towards. It will be difficult, and it does not end once ICEX is over (in fact, it never does)! I think it's safe to say that by partaking in the ICEX project, this is a goal that everyone on the team is working towards. I guess I'm in good company!

I was assigned two sub-projects to complete along the way. These projects are developing an interactive Google Earth (or other) copy of our findings for documentation and educational purposes, and keeping track of the curriculum that we will share with the kids at Pacheco Elementary and any other schools that we may be working with. My goal is to educate as many people as possible such that they will be interested in what robotics has to offer. Hopefully, if we do our job at Pacheco, a handful of the kids will use our labs as an incentive to work harder in school so that they can do the same things in their future. While the details of the Google Earth database are not as clear as of yet, I hope that the outcome of this sub-project will be just as beneficial.

Just like every other human, I have a knack for adventure. Malta will feed that knack! I'm ecstatic to be on another side of the planet learning about things that I have never encountered! When I'm on my deathbed and I ask myself if I lived a complete life, this is one of the things that I will use to convince myself that I did. Happiness is something that everybody strives for, and this is the best way that I can think of to be happy. My goal is to make the trip as fulfilling as it can possibly be; to jam it with adventure, to have a mind opening experience, and to bring back as many stories as I can cram into my brain.