Student project suggestions

Background

Rather than suggest particular projects, I much prefer to talk to people on an individual basis and try to find something that will be of mutual interest.

My current research interests are focussed around wireless sensor systems, pervasive systems, control systems, autonomous systems (UAVs), and security. However, I teach (or have taught) courses on wireless sensor systems, computer architecture using FPGAs, security, mobile systems, operating systems, networking, Linux internals, compilers, databases, distributed systems, etc.

In my group we build things, measure things, and analyse data. All my projects require two things - (i) a willingness to learn new things as necessary to finish the project, some of which might well be outside your comfort zone, and (ii) practical application, good testing and, in some cases, statistics on the data captured. In short, I enjoy supervising self-motivated people who want to do something useful and want to do it in a professional way.

I have almost no interest in web/database projects.

In general, in my group we build hardware for wireless sensor nodes, we interface sensors to it, and we deploy this (i) on humans and animals, typically to measure behaviour and performance, and (ii) in both indoor and outdoor environments to measure anything from energy and water consumption to pollution levels. Once we have data, we undertake analysis on it and, where necessary, we invent new analytical techniques. The work involves building hardware, writing low level code to interface to sensors, data gathering, network protocols, security, and data analytics to name a few. The area has names that range from wireless sensor networking and pervasive computing to the Internet of Things. I have a separate interest in the use of technology in the education of schoolchildren.

Specific suggestions

1. Analyse animal movement (GPS/IMU) data: assess whether boid-like dynamics can explain observed behaviour and, if not, learn new rules
2. Build the hardware and control systems for a portable sensor system for gas sensing using MOS sensors developed in the Chemistry department
3. Computing and the arts: instrument a gas holder.
4. Build a cheap seismometer for deployment in the developing world.
5. Determine the increase in accuracy obtained by placing multiple cheap accelerometers on a single board
6. Create some connected jewellery

We have a collaboration with the Tunapanda Institute in Kenya: ​http://tunapanda.org/about-tunapanda/ : The Tunapanda Institute (TI) exists to spread dignity, respect, and freedom through education. TI builds skills in digital technology, collaboration, problem solving, and creative self-expression. Our primary focus is on youth who lack the opportunity to continue their studies or whose learning styles do not favor rote memorization. TI currently works exclusively in East Africa. They have suggested some project areas for collaboration with our MSc students this summer:

1. Biogas Sensors. Tunapanda Institute and Sanergy are interested in the use of and education in sensors for the biogas and aquaponics industries in East Africa and globally. Sanergy has set up lab and field scale experiments for composting, biogas and black soldier fly (insect farming). Each of these processes are biological and thus require careful monitoring and control of environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, pH, gas production etc. As they look to develop commercial scale systems and move their research from the lab to the field, they need to collect more accurate data and monitor processes constantly. To this end they are looking for expertise in sensor design and programming to be able to help with developing solutions specific to their needs. Sensors have direct applications to aquaponics and insect farming has the potential to minimize feed costs in aquaponics systems.
2. Create a compelling swag map viewer. This project focuses on implementing appealing graphical features in the swag map viewer. The current swag map viewer is very rudimentary when it comes to this, and we would like to have animations and other graphical metaphores from computer games here. The implementation will be made in javascript and HTML5 canvas, using contemporary tools and libraries, such as PIXI and p5.js. The student undertaking this project will build a practical skillset for implementing rich, animated HTML5 applications, which is in great demand from e.g. the computer games industry. The developed application will be put to immediate use by Tunapanda.
3. Analyze and streamline the swag map creation process. This project focuses on finding a best practice for defining swagmaps, and for finding a process that enables people with broad skillsets to create swagmaps. Currently, our swagmaps are defined by hand coded json files, but this presents a technical hurdle to many people. Which tools can we create that makes this process intuitive and simple? How do we best communicate this process to interested participants? The project involves analysis of the use case, and also implementation and testing of tools to aid the process. The student undertaking this project will gain experience of building a user centric application, and testing it on real users, with the challenges that this presents. The result of the work will be put to immediate use by Tunapanda.
4. Deploy swagmaps online. Currently, the swagmaps created by Tunapanda are deployed onto the Tunapanda classroom server. In order for these to reach a broader audience, we would like these to deployed online and accessible on the web. This project involves creating a web portal for our swagmaps, and creating required tools and scripts for deploying the swagmaps to the portal. The student undertaking this project will gain practical skills in working with deploying and maintaining web applications, and the result of the work will be accessible and visible online.
5. Create reporting agents. The Tunapanda Swag system relies on reporting applications for gathering data from various applications, and connecting to an xAPI database to store this data. We currently have one such reporting application, but we envision more of these. This project will involve creating daemon applications that run on the system level, and should appeal to someone who likes to write structured, testable and maintainable code.