Difference between revisions of "User:Rthomas"

Latest revision as of 16:34, 30 June 2016

Personal Information

• Incoming junior | Computer Science/Math majors at Marquette

• Working with Dr. Dennis Brylow on the concepts of Computer Science Education and Embedded Systems

• Crossword puzzle enthusiast && newspaper peruser | Proponent of 24-hour time | Iron chef in training | frisbee thrower | chess player | sports watcher | distance runner | Python user

Log

Week 1 (May 31 - June 3)

Read and annotated the following papers:

• Initialization in Scratch: Seeking Knowledge Transfer. University of Chicago/UC Santa Barbara.

• MUzECS: Embedded Blocks for Exploring Computer Science. Marquette University.

• Hands-On Networking Labs with Embedded Routers. Marquette University.

Discussed preliminary project ideas with other researchers and mentor.

Created a new and improved model for implementing Chrome Browser IDE for MUzECS:

Attended Dr. Kim Factor's research talk on how to be a good researcher.

Researched Code.org's MUzECS alternative, including:

• The Arduino LilyPad platform - analyzing and comparing to the Arduino Leonardo and Uno, the platforms on which MUzECS currently operates

• The Johnny-Five (J5) framework/platform for robotics and IOT devices

• Code.org's AppLab interface for creating programs in a block-based IDE

Week 2 (June 6-10)

Cracked open the source code for the MUzECS Chrome Application.

Began testing on a prototype Circuit Playground Arduino board. Was unable to get a serial connection with this board, so we are ordering a new one in hopes that it works better.

Successfully programmed several components of the Arduino Leonardo using the Johnny-Five JavaScript framework. Exploring the implications of this.

Created a model for JavaScript development targeting Arduino Leonardo and other embedded systems:

Week 3 (June 13-17)

Got a new, working Circuit Playground board and successfully programmed all components of the board in low-level Python.

Explored more possibilities for programming Leonardo distance sensor in JavaScript.

Created a new model for block-based programming of Arduino, where a translator program (perevod) handles the platform specifics for a unified block-based IDE.

Attended Dr. Dennis Brylow's talk on how to write a research paper and give a research talk.

Attended Dr. George Corliss's talk on how to use the LaTeX typesetting system.

Wrote the introduction to the MUzECS browser research paper using LaTeX, and wrote a few scripts to optimize the compilation process.

Wrote a proof-of-concept Python implementation of the MUzECS "Chip Tunes" assignment, proving that the first MUzECS assignment can be done on the Circuit Playground board.

Week 4 (June 20-24)

Created a single Gitlab Repository out of a combination of all other MUzECS-related projects.

Created and implemented an assignment utilizing the accelerometer of the Circuit Playground, proving that the second MUzECS assignment can be done on the Circuit Playground.

Wrote a proof-of-concept Python implementation of the final MUzECS assignment on the Circuit Playground, proving that the entire MUzECS curriculum can be done on the Circuit Playground board. This means that the Circuit Playground is an entirely suitable replacement for the Arduino Leonardo + Shield that MUzECS currently uses.

Discussed direction going forward with Dr. Brylow; established new deadlines in regards to research conferences.

Week 5 (June 27 - July 1)

Added blank-slate blocks for accelerometer to MUzECS Browser IDE.

Prepared research presentation to be given on Thursday, June 30, halfway through the REU.

Delivered research talk on Thursday, June 30.