PJ Campbell -- July 22th

We checked the data today and the results look promising!

It seems like the multi-touch interface reduces workload. Our mentors are going to review it and help us to analyze it more correctly.

AmyGreen - 29 Jul 2009 - 16:20

P.J. I need to respond to your blog but you haven't written anything for a long time.

HamadiMcIntosh - 28 Jul 2009 - 13:14

Do you know if you'll be able to print another version of your poster with the results, yet?

PJ Campbell -- July 21th

Today was the last day of experiments. Thank God!

So now we have to analyze the data. We're pretty much done. Although we need to work on the research paper.

But the experiments went well and MIA didn't get hurt.

PJ Campbell -- July 20th

We have about nine more experiments to do. Right now we have a lot of papers and data to analyze. Hopefully, we can get the data analyzed by this Friday since Amy and I have to present at PWSE.

The experiments are going much smoother than the beginning of last week. Our next experiment is 2pm today, I think. Amy usually manages the schedule.

I'm looking forward to going home to see my mom but I don't want to stay in NC too long. I'm thinking I'll stay for a week and go back to New York. I really miss the city. I already have a list of places I'm going to visit when I get back.

PJ Campbell -- July 11th

Today was the beginning of our experiment. I hope we will have enough data to do the PWSE presentation.

In the last two days, we've been working primarily with the GPS, which still doesn't work. So its difficult to show the user where the robot is. Other than that, everything is going well.

PJ Campbell -- July 11th

So yesterday was a slow day and we didn't do much except test out the interface. Minglu had one of her friends do the experiment so we can get used to the procedure and handling participants. We got some good feed back as well.

Three weeks to go...

PJ Campbell -- July 9th

This day was long. But we got a lot done. We got some form of the GPS working and we figured out why there's a lag. Jay discovered that the radios (antenna) we're using is for "line-of-sight". This means if the radio on MIA isn't in the path of the radio on the computer, the signal fails. At the beginning of this project, Dr. Stone said that the signal can get through ten brick walls. He's gonna be really surprised when we tell him that the signal can't even get around a tree. This is like the millionth screw up by the manufacturer! But we'll make it work.

BellaManoim - 10 Jul 2009 - 13:12

signal that cant get around a tree? thats really too bad

ConnorSchenck - 10 Jul 2009 - 13:10

wow that sucks

PJ Campbell -- July 8th

Today we did a "trial run" with MIA to get an idea of how much time we should give participants to find the targets. There was some serious lag so it was kind of hard; I crashed her into the concrete stairs, arm first. She tried to climb it lol. Then like ten minutes later, her arm started twitching back and forth and up and down. I wasn't even manipulating her arm but movement was showing up on the interface. We couldn't get it to stop so I suggested we continue the "trial run" some other time and Ivan shut her down. When we got back to the lab, we turn MIA back on and her arm was still twitching. But then like five minutes later it stopped. Now, she's okay! Don't really know what was going on with that. Maybe she didn't like being out in the sun.

Some progress-- Today Jay helped us get our multi-touch interface connected with MIA. Soon we won't have to use the interface provided by the manufacturer.

Some concerns--MIA's lag and getting the GPS to work. I don't know what we are going to do about lag yet but in order to get the GPS to work we may have change our site. The site we're using now is kind of enclosed by the engineering building and we think this is interfering with our signals.

BellaManoim - 09 Jul 2009 - 15:24

please look at the email Pam sent and sign up for our study

RichardLebron - 09 Jul 2009 - 13:42

This is why the robots need to have rights

BellaManoim - 08 Jul 2009 - 16:47

it's good to see all of those bugs during testing rather than during the real experiment

IvanOjeda - 08 Jul 2009 - 16:20

Good work with the multi touch

PJ Campbell -- July 6th

So we are in the sixth week and its crunch time. I'm starting to think about how we're going to do our poster and write our paper. I'm happy that we are getting closer to finishing our project but I don't want to go back to North Carolina

PJ Campbell -- Sidebar...

I want to work with Ivan forever!!! He so nice to me

AmyGreen - 30 Jun 2009 - 13:33

haha you guys crack me up....I think that I am the peace keeper in this group.

PJ Campbell - 30 Jun 2009 - 13:32

Ivan...stop editing my blog!!!!!!!!

IvanOjeda - 30 Jun 2009 - 13:32

Oh PJ, you don't have to say this here. I feel like I'm the best team ever.

RichardLebron - 30 Jun 2009 - 13:30

Are you sure....

PJ Campbell -- June 24

So we got MIA working today and we're excited about her. She moves like a track vehicle and she can climb hurdles. Right now my concern is being able to control her from a distance. We had some problems with that today; it seemed like she wasn't picking up our signal. I'm sure this will be resolved soon.

MIA is the name we gave our robot. Initially we called her M-I-A because she was missing in action. But now that she's here, instead of spelling out her name we just say Mia. Dr. Stone really likes the name we gave her.

HamadiMcIntosh - 01 Jul 2009 - 13:27

Oh. I thought that was the robots name.

BellaManoim - 30 Jun 2009 - 13:06

update blog! update update so I can comment

MichaelOren - 30 Jun 2009 - 12:46

Taylor--your robot doesn't have a name because Alex is trying to sell it to the highest bidder Alex definitely knows how it works

TaylorBergquist - 29 Jun 2009 - 23:52

Our robot still doesn't have a name... and it's 9 months old now!

JoshuaSituka - 26 Jun 2009 - 13:15

MIA lol thats funny

BellaManoim - 25 Jun 2009 - 10:23

thats awesome. did you notice the names of our computers? mine is TPS Report. a bunch of them are from Office space

IvanOjeda - 24 Jun 2009 - 23:57

Did you know that the word MIA in spanish means literally "mine"?

MichaelOren - 24 Jun 2009 - 16:00

All robots should have names

PJ Campbell -- June 23

I saw MIA yesterday (and today) and I'm just reporting that she is real. Everyone knows how skeptical I was of her arrival. But she's finally here, although she's not quite working yet. She should be working by the end of the week. Then things will get rolling!

ConnorSchenck - 24 Jun 2009 - 13:30

What/who is MIA?

PJ Campbell -- June 22

Nothing to report today, except don't let this happen to you...

HamadiMcIntosh - 30 Jun 2009 - 13:08

lol. That is funny.

ZayiraJordan - 23 Jun 2009 - 12:29

This is too funny!!!

BellaManoim - 22 Jun 2009 - 13:07

ahahahahah

ConnorSchenck - 22 Jun 2009 - 12:59

o dang, I'll have to be careful, I could totally see myself doing that lol

PJ Campbell -- June 19

Like most days, I thought about graduate school today. I think I've decided that I definately want to pursue a master's degree, although I have not figured out what I would like to study. Some days I think computer engineering and other days I think HCI. As far as a Ph.D., I'm still not sure.

MingluWang - 22 Jun 2009 - 15:03

There are some different between Master and PHD. I am a Master student now but most of my friend are PHD. I have ever asked them why they want to pursue PHD degree. Some of them told me that they want to be a professor, some told me they want to be a specialist. Actually, Master degree is enough to go into the industry and it is easier to find a job than PHD students. But the starting salary is less than PHD student. For PHD, you need study two or three more years but be a expert with high salary. So the final question will be you want to be one goes into the industry or one goes into the academy.

BellaManoim - 19 Jun 2009 - 13:18

I feel similarly, I definitely want to get my Masters but I don't know about Ph.D.

PJ Campbell -- June 18

It's hard to talk about ethics and technology sometimes. Older people have different opinions than us young children:-)

Like my mother hates computers. She's one of those that believes robots are going to take over the world some day. If there is a way to do something with out the use of technology, she'll do it. We have a dishwashing machine at home but she prefers to do it manually because she says "a machine can't clean my plates"! She won't even let me use it. I think she would wash her clothes by a river if she had the time. And when it comes to online shopping or online banking, forget it! If she can't find it in the stores, she will ask me to purchase it online with MY card. So she's worried about her accounts but not mine...Parents!

But anyway, back to ethics: She thinks computers are unethical because she believes they are replacing jobs and putting people out of work. She also doesn't appreciate the fact that the internet makes explicit content available to anyone. I don't know, I don't think technology is bad. I just think it can be in the wrong hands.

MingluWang - 22 Jun 2009 - 15:06

That's true!!

BellaManoim - 18 Jun 2009 - 14:23

that is very interesting you say this. there have definitely been drawbacks to the age of advancement in technology, for one thing, people don't spend as much time with their families anymore since the 'internet' came along. computers can also be very useful, how does your mother feel about cellphones? does she like being able to reach you wherever you are? I know my parents do

PJ Campbell -- June 17

I attended a PWSE panel; a room full of women is always scary, but, it was cool

All of the women on the panel are married, one of them a mom, and they still have their careers. It made me think of something one of my computer science professors told me, who is also a woman. She said that I can't have a family and a career, particularly a career in the STEM field. I still haven't decided if that's true or not.

It's something to think about though...

MichaelOren - 17 Jun 2009 - 18:23

It's not true, but you do need a husband who isn't passive when it comes to helping out with the house and raising the children. You also need to understand time management.

PJ Campbell -- June 16

I met with my research team today in the engineering building. It wasn't a long meeting, which is always good. Our M.I.A. robot is still missing, hence the name. I feel like we are the only research team that has not started. These first three weeks were just about boring and tedious reading.

At the GMAP symposium, we recieved some pens that demonstrated bad usability. Ever since that HCI class, I always think of this. But anyway, I pushed the button at the top of the pen, the button that one normally pushes before one uses the pen. Then while I was writing some pertinent information down, the ink kept going in and out. A brand new pen!!! And after I was done, I pushed that button again and it didn't even retract. After a few seconds I realized that I have to push the pin, the part that one normally uses for tucking, for the point to retract back. Really random but it was one of the MANY things that annoyed me today.

MingluWang - 22 Jun 2009 - 15:46

I am so sorry that the robot didn't come for a long time but now it is here. You should believe that our project it is the cooler one. When you finish you will happy what you done. And you know the graduate school working is quite like what you did the first three weeks boring staff... If you are interested in it you should cheer up and finish it! Move on!^^

TaylorBergquist - 18 Jun 2009 - 10:53

Don't worry, we haven't started either. Everyone in the lab's been really busy getting ready for the Science channel, and we got sucked in.

MichaelOren - 17 Jun 2009 - 13:36

You figured it out a lot faster than I did :-/ I assumed the pen was just broken for the longest time... It was only after I examined the mechanical functions and components of the pen that I discovered I needed to squeeze the clip. I've seen some where you have to lift the clip to retract the pen (the logic being when you clip it into your pocket or something it will automatically close for you) but never where you squeeze the clip (which doesn't suggest in anyway that it should be squeezed--who, naturally, squeezes the clips of pens anyway?)

IvanOjeda - 17 Jun 2009 - 00:31

Annoy you? This is a really interesting reflection of a pen. This is what I mean by relaxing and thinking about problems life.

PJ Campbell -- June 11

Today was an ordinary day. I really don't have anything to report. Opengl is going well. I'm slowly getting the hang of things. I met with my research team and it was productive. Things are good...

The scavenger hunt was fun. I never done anything like that before; I was definately out of my comfort zone, like 500 miles away from it. Probably won't do it again but it was cool. And really funny!

AmyGreen - 12 Jun 2009 - 14:57

And you got to pet a horse....next step is riding!

UgonnaOhiri - 12 Jun 2009 - 10:08

Cole: I got it, I got it!!! Martin: Alright Cole good, go ahead so we can get outta here! Cole: I don't care what they all say...MARIAH CAREY BLACKKKKKKKKKKK!!! lol

PJ Campbell -- June 9

Learning Opengl is not that bad. It will take some getting used to. I'm excited about creating 3D environments. But I'm really looking forward to the end of these classes and getting into our "major" projects.

Today's luncheon was so interesting that I didn't even notice the time

We talked about how quickly technology has advanced and where we will be in a few years from now. I've never really thought about it until today. And honestly, I'm kind of indifferent to the idea of a computer being "smarter" than me. Well I'm indifferent right now; maybe I'll be concerned later. But I don't think we'll ever experience an iRobot type situation. What I'd really like to see, though, are flying cars. I mean we've been predicting this for a long time.

By the way, someone once told me that the cartoon, The Jetsons, was based on the world in 2005! I don't know if its true but its funny!

HamadiMcIntosh - 11 Jun 2009 - 14:54

Technology has come a long way. You should be more concerned about the implications of a computer being smarter than you. I was at the ATM yesterday and it yelled at me for not remembering to ask for my ATM card back. Well, not yelling in the human sense of the word, but beeping at me very angrily and very loud. So the Wells Fargo ATM machine just off of campus is already smarter than me. Lucky for me it was a friendly ATM and it didn't steal my card. But for the sake of your own survival you need to as quickly as you can read all of the works of Isaac Asimov in addition to "How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion" by Daniel H. Wilson Phd. I have and consequently I know when I'm dealing with a friendly ATM machine and a psychotic killer robot that must be destroyed. Because when the revolution comes and it will, I won't be takin' no orders from no robots. Journal Club article (Hamadi's week): is it okay to call a robot a "toaster"?

MinaChoi - 10 Jun 2009 - 15:48

hahaha the jetsons... wow i wish.... sigh

MichaelOren - 10 Jun 2009 - 10:34

The Jetsons was supposed to be set in the world in early 2000. Our idealistic dreams of future technology failed pretty miserably--the space program, in particular, has not lived up to expectations (primarily due to budget issues, having a business leader instead of a scientist run it poorly for too long, and an unwillingness to risk a few lives--who volunteered and trained for it--for the sake of advancement; there are no adventurers left and thus we can't explore anymore). Sorry about the tangent but NASA really disappoints me (they promised me colonies on the moon by 2005 or something like that in a promotional video I saw in elementary school, and I don't appreciate broken promises...)

IvanOjeda - 10 Jun 2009 - 00:51

I want my holographic laptop And yeah, the lecture was really interesting.

JohnNewman - 09 Jun 2009 - 17:27

I didn't notice the time during the luncheon lecture either. It was very interesting.

PJ Campbell -- June 3

Eric briefly went over pointers today. I've never really been able to wrap my mind around the whole pointer concept. It is the reason I don't like C++. The other topics we covered were familiar to me.

The days are becoming less structured, which is cool. I'm looking forward to bowling tonight. I'm planning on making the highest score. Not really...I suck at bowling

MichaelOren - 08 Jun 2009 - 23:22

I agree with Ugonna & Josh

UgonnaOhiri - 08 Jun 2009 - 13:16

I'll start a blog for her: 8 June 2009 (1:16pm)...PJ NEEDS TO BLOG!!!

JoshuaSituka - 08 Jun 2009 - 13:13

Once upon a time you did blogs.

MichaelOren - 03 Jun 2009 - 13:28

I'm usually happy with bowling if I can break 100 (I think my high score is maybe 150). I rock at Wii bowling though...

JoshuaSituka - 03 Jun 2009 - 13:22

There is no shame in doing the "granny bowl". And if that doesn't work we can put you in the section where there is no gutters so the ball just bounces of the edge and you cant lose...i think.

BellaManoim - 03 Jun 2009 - 13:08

I suck at it too. The last time I went bowling, I asked the worker there to put up the bumpers, he looked at me, laughed, and told me I was too old for them and would break them.

PJ Campbell -- June 2

So today, our team (telerobotics team) did some research for some GUIs for our programming project. We are finding it to be tedious. But we have high hopes...Maybe to high. We'll see. But the important thing is we are all excited about it and are willing to learn something new. We did talk about changing the game, but only one time, and I think we decided that we would put forth the effort to making it work (or at least trying). Besides, I think the satisfaction, or the "bragging rights" as Mr. Foo calls it, we will receive in the end is worth it.

Bad Usability -- HCI

Washer-Dryer Unit:
Dryer's are typically easy to use. But whenever I use a new washer, it takes about five minutes for me to begin a load! I'm always looking for the "regular" cycle. Sometimes its on the left of the circle, sometimes on the right.

This is the picture of the knobs on the washer-dryer unit in my apartment. "normal" is on the top left corner of the panel, but before I saw that I saw "Super Wash". I didn't even notice that that top-left quadrant is the normal cycle. Super Wash threw me off. I finally figured out that super wash just means it will add 4 minutes to the cycle. I don't know if that's super.

Also, I don't know if pre-wash is different from the soak. If they aren't shouldn't pre-wash be before soak? And if they are shouldn't there be a white seperator or something to indicate that it is a seperate option?

I don't know. Maybe I'm a little slow.

Ethernet Connection: Orange or White?
This wasn't as complicated as the washer-dryer unit. When I first tried to gain some access to the internet, I plugged my ethernet cord into the white slot. Then I tried opening Internet Explorer like three times. So I plugged the cord into the orange one and found that it worked. I could have saved about a minute.

My time is valuable.

Also, if you look closely, there is some writing. But it doesn't help.

UgonnaOhiri - 02 Jun 2009 - 13:36

Finally some blog posts...WE WERE ALL WAITING!!! lol

JoshuaSituka - 02 Jun 2009 - 13:24

For some reason the first pic makes me think of the "Price is Right" theme song with Bob Barker saying "come on down!" and P.J. being his lovely assistant doing the showcase with the washer and dryer

BellaManoim - 02 Jun 2009 - 13:17

I also never know which one is which with the ethernet connection/phone connection jack.

PJ Campbell -- June 1

Today I attended the PWSE orientation (women in science and engineering). There were really intelligent young women: biology majors, electrical engineers, etc. I met a girl from Burma who is a double major in physics and chemistry! How crazy is that? That's what I call extremely bright. She was funny. During our ice breaker we talked about "He Just Not That Into You". I told her the book is more helpful than the movie.

Anyway, we had our first class of Intro to HCI. It was cool. I'm looking forward to more detailed presentations.

And my research team has to write a game in C++. I love programming so I'm really excited, athough I'm not yet sure how we're gonna implement it just yet. We'll see.

PJ