dmphorgan2008

One final update that might give this a bit of a happier ending.

My boss here at Binghamton U works with some kind of Disabled Users Group and when I told him about my research and what I did, he felt it had a good basis for differently-abled computing. So it turns out that my summer might actually produce something practical and useful!

I haven't had a chance to get down to the nitty gritty with him but once things calm down a little I'll talk to him and he said might be able to get me research funds to make an actual working product. Neat!

Final report is done and posted.

Vicki never bothered to try and get me exempted from the testing procedures. She ignored me for a week, and then wanted me to just do it under the radar in my last 3 days here. I decided that was BS, and I'm not getting myself in any kind of trouble because she was too busy.

Project was done a week ago.
Vicki never got me exempted from the testing rules.
So f*$&ing bored.
My stuff is mostly packed.

I would have posted yesterday but I couldn't remember my password and my IP got blocked.

After monumental struggle I've got forward/backward, left/right movement moving. During the demos today I decided on a fool proof method for rotation, so I'll test that after the kids leave.

Monday I'll see about scanning in my diagrams. Then I'm pretty much done. Sweet.

I highly doubt that Vicki will manage to get my testing approved so oh well.

I found it amusing today when Victoria showed up to the lab and I was the only one here.

So for this week:

Monday - Finished putting together the harness.
Tuesday - Tried testing the harness. It was an off-day for everyone.
Wednesday - Finished the goggles. Did most of the paper. Couldn't test harness because of issues with the computer, but modified code. I think it might work now.
Thursday - Couldn't figure out the damned screen again. Finished up formatting my citations although I still have a few more to add. Read through the paper again. Now I'm working on drawing diagrams for it since by-hand is always easier than trying to use the computer. At 2pm I have to go find the guy that found my flashdrive.
Friday - Tomorrow, if anyone show up, I'm hoping to test the harness and goggles.

I'm a little annoyed with myself because the way I built the harness made most of my code untrue as far as the spinal comparisons. Now it feels flimsier and a little more ghetto. We'll see if it works or not.

After my lacklustre meeting with Victoria on Monday I was enraged. She was basically telling me that I was incapable of doing things that I felt were easily within my abilities. So, because I am as stubborn as my father before me, I decided to do the more reasonable (in my mind) project.

Let's review the timeline:

Monday - Was told I was incapable of completing my "ambitious" projects within the 5 weeks remaining to me.
Tuesday - Easily finished the rough code.
Wednesday - Messed around with Vicon and was generally unsatisfied with the hardware available.
Wednesday Night - Came up with the idea for harness.
Today -

Right now I'm waiting for Brian to show up so I can sweet talk him into taking me to my OTHER favorite store in the world, Home Depot. I sketched out roughly what I want to make. It's an elastic harness similar to suspenders that will have the reflective markers attached via most likely molded plastic. I have a pot at home and I will probably spend my free time for the next few days sculpting plastic with it. I want the markers to be removable, but to also be held firmly in place. I'm going to build antennae as well that will be attached somehow to the stereo goggles to complete the outfit.

 

 

Wow! Well I had no idea until today that I was supposed to be doing a website at all, let alone a journal so I guess I have some catching up to do.

I got to Minneapolis on June 14th and started my work with Professor Victoria Interrante and her Graduate Student Brian Ries on June 16th. I read several research papers that Professor Interrante (from her on known as Vicki) sent me back in March.

Their research interested me in finding a way to explore these environments without the restrictions of space imposed by the natural environment, since that seemed to be a major drawback to what they were working towards.

My first week here, Vicki had to attend a conference in Portugal. Brian and I devised a small project to work on while she was gone so that I could accquaint myself to the Vicon and Highball systems that are in use here.

Using the Vicon system and the Stereo projectors, I used reflective markers to outline objects representing a waist and a headband. A wand with reflective markers would be held in either hand and, depending on the positions of the wands relative to the waist, headband and each other, different “movements” could be achieved within the virtual environment.

I worked on this project until Vicki returned. She gave me some suggestions for fine tuning it, and as it is rather awkward, I will be revising it.

She also helped me jumpstart my research so that I have a longer term goal for the rest of my time here, as well as getting my website set up. I have some more papers to read and I’ll write about those tomorrow.

Also, the other girl showed up.