We have been experimenting with smaller, custom web applications for research projects. For this year's deployment of TunePad at Evanston-Skokie District 65, we have a newer technical stack based on Node (of course with a mix of client-side TypeScript, a PostgreSQL datastore ...etc.). Our web applications tend to
The purpose of this guide is to help someone setup a secure websocket server on any Ubuntu VM (AWS/Linode/Digital Ocean/Azure etc.). Given the current state of the world, supporting features such as collaborative editing and real-time chat became almost essential to TunePad's long term success.
Since completing my Ph.D., I have been working as a HCI Researcher and Software Lead on the TunePad project. TunePad is a tool for creating music using the Python programming language. It has various musical instruments (bass, drums, synthesizer, sequencer etc.) that are programmable, a healthy library of tutorials
As we got closer to opening up TunePad to more classrooms, we wanted to have some web analytics set up. While Google Analytics is almost the default choice in such a scenario, we were looking for alternatives. Fathom seemed promising. This guide documents the installation and deployment process. It draws
A small project to add a remote unlocking option to an old car.
From my childhood, I have loved cars; perhaps it should not be surprising that my graduate studies would involve cars in some form or the other. However, I count myself as being extremely fortunate that my advisor (Mike!) let me to formulate and investigate a research problem for my PhD
I designed and developed an Apple Watch application to let museum visitors navigate galleries of interest more easily, communicate/share data between the watch and a museum's interactive displays for content personalization, and also save snippets of interesting information along the way. I like to think of it
The Digital Rails project was done in partnership with the fine folks at Chicago's Field Museum. The museum had recently opened up a state-of-the-art gallery called the Hall of China with the intention 0f educating museum visitors about China's complex history using historical/cultural artifacts. Quoting
Changing the CV-axle, upper-control arms, and stabilizer bar links.
Front brake repair (rotor + brake pads) on the Acura Legend.
Could NATO put in place an “Article 5 for cyber crime” into effect? Basically a modern day equivalent that could read “The parties agree that a cyber-attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered a cyber-attack against them all …” (edits and highlights mine,
What do Google Maps, Apple Maps and Bing Maps (Nokia Here?) mean for the future of mobility? Reading Justin O’Beirne’s essays [https://www.justinobeirne.com/essays/] comparing cartography design between Apple and Google made me wonder whether Apple can compete with Google when self-driving cars are more the
research
When I started working at the TIDAL Lab in 2012, a project that investigated family practices around appliances and household energy usage was already in place (NSF grant). Over the next couple of years, we developed two "board games" to investigate if a thoughtfully designed board game can
research
GhostHunter started as an offshoot of the GreenHomeGames NSF grant, where we were exploring ways to augment traditional heating and cooling systems controls (such as the thermostats) in homes to help families learn about their energy footprint. The idea was simple, look for ways to way energy use more "
research
We added various actuators, sensors, and a micro-controller to a frisbee that could be used to give throw feedback to an ultimate frisbee player. Here's an excerpt from the paper: Ultimate frisbee is a rapidly growing sport that is played in more than 42 countries. Although it is
travel
Climbing Mt. Olympus, August ‘13.
travel
Spent a few days in Barcelona (10th -15th February ‘13). Attended a conference, but as is usual, one learns more from one’s travels. If you were to run into me on the 8th of February, you would have encountered a grumpy and highly irritable individual; one frantically searching for
tech
I got an opportunity to teach an undergraduate course with my research advisor ( Mike Horn [https://tidal.northwestern.edu/people/mikehorn/]) during the winter quarter (Jan. 7th to Mar. 16th, 2013) at Northwestern University. This post is mainly about why we opted for Dart, and the experience of teaching it
research
This was Jesse's Master's thesis project that we got to collaborate on. By this point in time, our lab had been researching Organic User Interfaces and flexible display interaction techniques that involved bending/twisting the display for years, but Jesse had this idea of combining touch-input
research
Unifone was Tre's (Andreas Hollatz) brainchild and ended up being the project that directly led to his Master's degree/thesis. Tre built all the hardware and the software for the project. Luckily for me, David and Tre let me collaborate on the paper writing, illustrations and
tech
My friend Nick and I came up with an idea for making a tool for ecosystem education. Similar to other hierarchical systems, ecosystems also tend to have a distinct "layered" distribution of flora and fauna (e.g. the type of creatures one would encounter in an ocean at
research
Part-I of my Master's thesis (Remote Multitouch: In-Air Pointing Techniques for Large Display Interactions) where we were looking at how well in-air gestures can work for data manipulation tasks on a large vertical display. We designed and built a docking task where participants would either use dual laser
travel
Went to Japan in Nov. 2011 to present a paper at ITS. Officially work, unofficially a tour of Japan. Japan knocked it out of the park on all of the following: the food, the sights, and the people. From my room at the Stargate Hotel. In a tiny place, Rinku-Town,
research
Part-II of my Master's thesis (Remote Multitouch: In-Air Pointing Techniques for Large Display Interactions) where we were looking at how well in-air gestures can work for data manipulation tasks on a large horizontal/tabletop display. The ergonomics of a horizontal display, along with the position of a user