A STEM-based collaborative community of educators and students to promote science, design, and 21st century technologies at Murray State University, the local community, and the service region, to communicate and share stories, to provide resources, to enhance current learning environments, and engage curious minds from all walks of life.
My apologies for the lack of posts over the last few months. Cool stuff is occurring on campus. One bit of news has an embargo placed upon it so I am not at liberty to discuss. However, that bit of news is quite exciting and I am hoping a broad announcement will be forthcoming any week.
A bit of news I can share is the new LightBoard available through the Faculty Development Center (FDC). If you are not familiar with what a LightBoard is and what a LightBoard can do, here is a short demonstration video from the folks at Stanford University.
The LightBoard is a cool, innovative technology used for providing and enhancing online course content. The Murray State University LightBoard was made in-house by Jim Barnett (J-CSET) with student assistance, and Justin Patton (Media Support Technician, CHFA). I'll see if I can get my hands on a Murray State demonstration video and post. In the meantime, direct your questions about the use of the LightBoard to Justin Patton.
I subscribe to the CampusTechnology email newsletter, and find many pertinent items, interesting news, and thought-provoking ideas. In the last email, CT has a story concerning a recent NSF grant awarded to investigators at Indiana University and University of Michigan. These researchers are to study the Maker Movement in the United States and China over the next four years.
One of the researchers, Shaowen Bardzell is interested in innovation and Maker support in the U.S. Midwest:
Similar support exists in the United States, but primarily on the coasts, not in the middle of the country, where, Bardzell observes, "there's a proud tradition of manufacturing." The next generation of products, she said, "from cars and dishwashers to clothing and medical devices" will be tied to manufacturing innovation. "We see potential for everything from prototyping to mass production in the region."
I have to say I agree with her. Following many Maker, DIY, and Spark accounts on Twitter, I learn nearly every day the coasts are recipients of most of the attention as far as innovation, fabrication, and technology are concerned. For example, I recently learned the White House is making an investment in wearable technology due to the president's fascination with his Fitbit. The Department of Defense is contributing $75 million dollars to a pool of private funding, bringing the total investment to about $171 million. The site of this new investment is, of course, San Jose, home of Silicon Valley, and on the West Coast, the pinnacle of U.S. technopoles. (White House Fact Sheet, 8-28-2015)
I am hoping to learn more from the research findings of the NSF-sponsored investigation. I think I sort of know what the findings will be, but surmising from anecdotes is not the same as having evidence, right?
The United States has long been exemplary of our societies support for innovation and entrepreneurship. Individuals from George Washington Carver, Otis Boyken, Thomas Edison, to Ellen Ochoa and Steve Jobs, the environment of creation has helped establish the United States as having the best climate for developing new technology and for entrepreneurship.
Now upon us, upon American society, is a new age of "personal makership" to coin a new term, maybe. While the United States has never had a want, a desire to make and improve, the technology has generally been out of the range of all but the most sacrificing of people. Today, though, a host of complementary technologies are now available to Americans of all ages, from 8-year old to 80-year old entrepreneurs. Technologies like 3D printers (Makerbot, Cubify), scanners (Cubify), computer-controlled milling machines and routers are now at price points within the grasp of thousands of people. Internet-based companies offer printing and fabrication services for people who would rather not buy equipment but uses someone else's capital. New companies like Make, Arduino, and Littlebits create opportunities to learn, engage, and create using microcomputers. Old companies, like Intel, now offer new micro-boards for hobbyists to use in various projects.
All things considered, this is a very exciting time for millions of people. Never has so much been available to so many at such a low cost of entry, perhaps ever in the history of Humanity. And, these opportunities will only get better, not worse.
Drones, otherwise described as "unmanned aerial systems" or "Unmanned aerial vehicles," are without any doubt an exciting and fascinating component of our environment, from this moment in history forward. Scientists have been using drones for decades. Oceanographers have been using remote vehicles for surveying ocean depths for decades. Meteorologists have been using drones for collecting atmospheric data. Even NASA's space probes are really unmanned drones dispersed through our local solar system neighborhood, really. Curiosity, Spirit, and Opportunity are really terrestrial drones.
Drones have captured the world's attention through their use as a platform for launching missiles at al-Qaeda, al-Shabab, and ISIS. Our military has used them for spying, for keeping countries honest about military actions, and for blasting people and equipment to smithereens. However, drones, UAVs, UASs, have many more useful and benign uses. Unfortunately, military applications have trashed drone reputation, and redemption of reputation through appropriate drone applications is going to be challenging. When the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) appears to require all drones regardless of size to keep a physical copy of a flight manual aboard the drone [techcrunch], even people in our own U.S. government may present the biggest challenge to drone use.
I don't want to focus on the military applications of drones for this post. That is a series of posts into-and-of themselves. For this post, I want to focus upon a very singular application and entreat any interested parties, e.g. Google, Hexagon, or ESRI, to consider these thoughts.
For most of human history, we have gained knowledge about our environment by sending humans "into the field" to collect "ground truth" or, as my first graduate professor preferred, "ground reference information; because, really, what is Truth?" Scientists ventured out themselves, or sent students, or sent themselves and students, or hired locals with student over-sight; whatever the permutation, people had to venture out. Now, we have the technology, almost but-not-quite ubiquitous, to replace or at the very least, supplement, our information collection efforts for our environment. To be clear, I don't think people will ever be fully replaced. We should always maintain some "hands-on" curiosity of our environment, and always remain a little suspicious of any data collected. Data captured by drones should be never be beyond scrutiny.
Many companies have been founded upon the promise of drones and associated technologies. Some companies, particularly those serving economic sectors whose clients need frequent aerial imagery are also getting in on the action. Utility companies, gas and mining companies, agriculture-based corporations, plus government agencies such as the National Parks Service, need recurrent aerial imagery and surveys simply to manage assets. Leica Geo-systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hexagon Group, showcased a nice hexacopter at the ESRI User Conference in 2013. The Aibotix X6 is capable of handling a variety of image sensors, from simple RGB digital cameras, to multispectral sensor cameras, even to supporting some LiDAR systems.
What fascinated me at the ESRI International Users Conference, a conference replete with Makers - I mean the place is lousy with cool, innovative people, excited to meet the challenges of our environment head-on - what fascinated me was a couple of fellows from Stanford and their nifty aquatic drone. These two students had just formed their own company, Liquid Robotics, to develop and build unmanned data collection devices for gathering information on the open ocean. I found their aquatic drone mesmerizing. A simple, surfboard-looking device; no, more like a sealed kayak, maybe. Flat on top, with a keel several inches deep. The flat dorsal surface was covered with solar panels to generate enough power for the communications equipment and sensors. The unit is not self-powered; the drone merely floats along on the waves, broadcasting position via coordinates gathered from the on-board GPS. The drone deploys a series of blades from the keel which catch the current, propelling the drone in the same direction as the current.
At the time I chatted with the founders of Liquid Robotics, their drone essentially measured current velocity, sea surface temperature (SST), and a longitude, latitude (x,y) coordinate, plus all the ephemeral data coincident with collecting a GPS coordinate. I asked, "But, what about other measurements? Water temperature? Salinity, or other characteristics? Will future versions collect samples?" Yes, they replied, they had plans on providing upgrades and different models to accommodate clients needs. I continued my line of questioning. "What about freshwater? What about developing devices for collecting information about our freshwater bodies of water? What about reservoirs, or the Great Lakes, or the Great Salt Lake? Do you have any plans on developing devices for those bodies of water?"
Their reply took me aback. "No. Why would we want to develop for reservoirs? Those are just standing bodies of water." OK, so, these guys are engineers at Stanford. They are not stupid. However, clearly they do not understand the hydrodynamics of reservoirs very well. Reservoirs, pretty much by definition, are created by the impoundment of moving water. While the study of ocean water and associated currents is extremely important for climate research, the study of freshwater resources is critical for understanding critical ecosystems directly connected to our food supply, energy, human health, and the geopolitics of water. I think I left an impression upon them, but not sure how deep the impression went.
Enter Google, and more specifically, Google.org. Google.org manages a program which lends a Google StreetView camera to groups or organizations with interesting projects. Recently, I ran across an article showcasing the use of a Google StreetView camera to collect imagery along the San Francisco Bay. The Google StreetView camera was attached to a remotely-controlled motorized platform, operated by people located on a nearby boat. What an amazing prototype, right? However, development cannot stop with merely mounting a Google StreetView camera to essentially what amounts to a modified catamaran.
A lengthy post, as most of mine tend to be, but stay with me as I am going to bring in some other related projects and expose the potential for far more mature endeavors.
Reservoir Research Using UAVs and Landsat 8 Satellite Imagery
If unfamiliar with Google and Google's own directed research to help environmental causes, I encourage you to watch the YouTube video below. Google's own server farms host USGS Landsat 8 imagery for researchers world-wide. Anyone who has ever used what I consider to be the granddaddy of all Internet applications, Google Earth, has used Landsat 5, 7, and most recently, Landsat 8 satellite imagery. Landsat imagery forms the foundation basemap imagery against which all other imagery is overlaid.
At Murray State University, the Hancock Biological Station (HBS) monitors the Tennessee River watershed, including the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kentucky Lake. HBS uses a number of different technologies to gather water quality information covering one of the most important and historical waterways in the United States. HBS collects data from fixed locations which also double as osprey nests. Other fixed sources include a small number of buoys. These technologies broadcast data back to HBS using SMS, incorporated with data which has been collected for decades.
The third data collection method in use at Hancock is a boat. Yes, a boat. On a regular basis, HBS deploys a manned boat to collect all sorts of information. I've been on a couple cruises to observe and help. Water samples are collected, at depth. Turbidity is assessed. Water temperature, wind speed, wind direction, dissolved oxygen are measured. A large number of in situ tests are run, as well as samples collected for later analysis. Each cruise hits 14 to 17 randomly selected sampling sites. At each location the same procedures are duplicated. On November 8th, 2013, Hancock conducted its 500th monitoring cruise.
Now, I said, "...on a regular basis,..." Specifically, HBS deploys its boat every 16 days. Why every 16 days? The Landsat 8 satellite has a return frequency of 16 days, meaning Landsat 8 can image the same Earth location every 16 days. Thus, knowing the return schedule of Landsat 8, HBS plans its monitoring schedule around the return visit of Landsat 8. In fact, over the course of the program, HBS planned each monitoring mission around Landsat 5 and Landsat 7. HBS skips a mission or two in the winter months; a mission is planned every 32 days. Over 200 students and faculty from around the world have used Murray State University and Hancock Biology Station to advance the progress of water science studies.
What I envision is a fleet of SFBaykeeper-style aquatic drones for monitoring Kentucky Lake and nearby Lake Barkley. Currently, HBS monitors 17 stations in the middle reach of Kentucky Lake, and no stations on Lake Barkley. Station management and College of Science faculty, staff, and students have long dreamed of expanding data collection for Kentucky Lake / Tennessee River System, and adding the Lake Barkley / Cumberland River System to the research program. A fleet of aquatic drones, each member pre-programmed to hit a precise location, could be deployed to coincide with the Landsat 8 overpass. Each member would be equipped with instruments for collecting samples and running analysis. The members would then return to HBS for staff to retrieve water samples.
Sure; there are a number of concerns. Some traits of interest of volatile; some chemicals, like those from agricultural pesticides and herbicides do not last long once removed from the lake. Perhaps the fleet collects the data they are best able to measure; some remaining analysis may require a human visit. However, a fleet may allow a "division of labor," allowing human staff to hit more locations to collect the volatile samples, while the fleet members collect the low-hanging fruit.
My point is: considerable work has been performed already to control automated deployment and dispersal of drones. When coupled to GPS and the cellular network, the drone fleet would bring fantastic growth to a mature and robust monitoring reservoir monitoring program.
Europa Sensor Platform
Agreed; my next idea is a bit of a reach. However, any sensor platform developed for Planet Earth could be modified for use elsewhere.
One of the more intriguing locations within our solar system, besides Mars, is Europa. Europa is a moon of Jupiter with a tendency to eject plumes of water, water vapor, or some gaseous fluid closely resembling H2O. The development of an aquatic drone, or an aquatic-capable drone, here on Earth, tested and run through a variety of stress tests, would have at least two positive outcomes. First, the unmanned aquatic vehicle (UAV) technology could be directly applied to any reservoir or other large body of water. Second, the platform could be later adapted for bathymetric surveys, for search-and-rescue, or monitoring of other watershed parameters. Third, the UAV technology could then be modded for other environments, i.e. Europa.
In this post, I have set forth some arguments to push for development of a mature aquatic drone research product. What Google has done in assisting in the creation of the SFBaykeeper has so many applications, the implications stagger me a bit. So very cool what is going on with people engineering things in their garage, in their homes, with industry support, who often, like Google, provide mentors to guide and oversee use of technology.
Many software companies provide software solutions for colleges and universities. Having some experience with these licenses I can say some companies "don't get it," charging hundreds of dollars to students for trial versions of software which expire after a year. Autodesk, by comparison, does get it.
3D printing and design, 3D scanning technology, and other DIY fabrication devices require software to generate the files used in fabrication. Colleges and universities, after spending money to acquire fabrication technology are often strapped for cash to obtain necessary software. Often, the software arriving with the technology is good, but not "industry-standard." Faculty want to expose students to current software provided by industry leaders.
Years ago, software companies might provided "low-cost" versions of their software to students for educational use. While "enterprise" licenses might cost tens of thousands of dollar "per seat" (per computer), a student license might run $500-$1,000. Students would scoff at such offering despite the 90% discount from list. Software companies, at the time, didn't really understand that if they simply gave their software to schools to use in teaching, the students would want to use the software after gaining the experience, resulting in a built-in user base.
Most companies are catching on to the idea of using colleges and universities to develop a ready-made user base and are literally giving away software, or are engaging in very generous licensing agreements which reduce the cost of yearly licensing to pennies per seat. Kudos to those companies, by the way.
Autodesk has such an offer to colleges and universities. Autodesk offers colleges and universities the chance to enroll in their Educational Community program. Once enrolled, nearly all of Autodesk'
s software is available to the entire campus community.
Just a sample of Autodesk's Educational Community offering
The Autodesk Educational Community allows disciplines across campus to offer instructional software, teach design and encourage creativity. Autodesk is not paying me for writing this post; over time I have used 3Ds Max, AutoCad, AutoCad Map, SketchBook Express. I know people who use Maya as often as I use my wok (a lot).
If your campus is into design, creativity, fabrication, then see if you already are part of the Educational Community. If not, make some noise and see if you can get your institution signed-up for this great offering by an industry leader in graphic arts and design.
Grant-funding opportunities can arise infrequently yet are important sources of funding for getting an important educational activity started. The Murray State University Office of Regional Outreach helps facilitate education grants and grant-funding.
Murray State University’s (MSU) Office of Regional Outreach has announced its 2014-15 grant funding cycle. Now in its seventh year, the Regional Outreach Grant Program provides seed money for new and innovative educational programming for West Kentucky youth and adults. Applications are accepted for review at any time during the fiscal year (June 1, 2014 through July 31, 2015) as long as funds are available.
Grants are competitive and funding is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis until funds are depleted. Grant proposal must include a 1:1 match in funding or comparable in-kind support.
Examples of internal Murray State University grants funded include: Dr. Renee Fister (mathematics and statistics) and Dr. Dina Byers and Dr. Dana Manley (nursing) for their collaborative “Health in a Box” project; Dr. Pam Matlock and Greg Gierhart (education) for their “Math Out of a Bag” program; and Dr. Aleck Leedy (engineering) for “Mobile Engineering Days.”
Some projects in the greater Murray State service region have also received important funding. Examples include Junior Achievement of West Kentucky, West Kentucky Educational Cooperative for the Prescription Drug Awareness Symposium, the Associated General Contractors of West Kentucky for Construction Career Day, and the Pennyrile Resource and Development Council for their “Building Bridges to Success” series for school children at Jeffers Bend Environmental Center and Botanical Garden.
"I am proud to host the first-ever White House Maker Faire. This event
celebrates every maker — from students learning STEM skills to
entrepreneurs launching new businesses to innovators powering the
renaissance in American manufacturing. I am calling on people across the
country to join us in sparking creativity and encouraging invention in
their communities." President Obama on June 17, 2014
The Maker Movement has gained its most prominent supporter, President Barack Obama. On June 17th, 2014, the White House hosted the first (and I am hoping annual) Maker Faire. From this day forward, June 18th will be known nationally as the "National Day of Making." You can read his proclamation here.
Hundreds of people participated in the White House Maker Faire. David Perry played his 3D printed violin at the White House, Russell the Electric Giraffe made his debut, and 17-year old Darius demonstrated his hand-built 3D printer. Check out the White House Maker Faire website for more details, videos, and a cameo by Bill Nye!
ESRI, the world's leading provider of geographic information systems software, provided a storymap helping illustrate the distribution of participants and provide some background information.
The White House has assumed an important role to help promote innovation and entrepreneurship through the Maker community. Users of Facebook can stay informed by following both Make and Maker Faire Facebook pages. User of Twitter can follow the #NationofMakers hashtag.
In a future post, I'll cover some methods of funding a Maker community, organizing a local Maker Faire, and share some anecdotes of my own experiences.
The Summer Cyber Academy, a telecommunications technology camp for high school students, will begin its first session on June 8. The mission of Cyber Academy is to expose high school students to computer technologies through hands-on, interactive activities.
The camp is sponsored by the Murray State University’s Program of Distinction in Telecommunications Systems Management (TSM). It gives high school students the opportunity to learn about a variety of technologies while introducing them to the college atmosphere through residential housing, campus dining and other on-campus functions.
Each summer there are two levels of camp offered. The first-year camps are designed for students at any experience level. During first-year camps, students will learn everything from building networks to installing and configuring network applications while earning three hours of college credit at Murray State. The security camp (second-year) is aimed at returning campers and focuses on network and host security. Throughout the security camp, campers will learn network defense techniques, network traffic analysis, how to bridge firewalls and much more.
Students attending camp stay on Murray State’s campus for five days and are supervised by TSM student counselors as well as TSM staff. Although the majority of the time is spent in the lab, several other activities are planned for the students to enjoy during the week. These activities include movie nights, scavenger hunts around campus, and time at the Bauernfeind Student Recreation and Wellness Center.
The 2014 Cyber Academy dates are set for June 8-13 and June 22- 27 (first year), and the Security Academy on July 6-11. Visit the website for more information, the academy application, a promotional video, photos, staff information and other important details about Cyber Academy at www.murraystate.edu/tsm/cybercave.
For questions, contact Annie Vandiver at the Center for Telecommunications Systems Management at 270.809.3987.
Murray State University is hosting a SharkTank-type entrepreneurial pitch contest this month. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, June 17, 11:00 a.m., inside Heritage Hall. The competition is sponsored by the Office of Entrepreneurship within the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, along with the Kentucky Angels Network and the Kentucky Innovation Network.
Loretta Daniel, Director of the Innovation and Commercialization Center (ICC) at Heritage Hall, said the competition is open to teams of three-to-four people with the winner in Murray taking home $1,000. The winning team will also advance to a competition this fall in Frankfort, where team members will pitch their idea directly to the entire Kentucky Angel Investors Network (Kentucky Angels).
The competition is open to the public, and will be a good way for local inventors to mingled, meet, and network.
Anyone wishing to enter the pitch competition should visit www.kyinnovation.com or contact Daniel at 270-809-6071.
Today, President Obama hosted the White House Science Fair, bringing students from all across the country to demonstrate a wide variety of science interests and knowledge in our national schools.
Team Rocket (All-girl) from Maryland
Innovative students representing 30 states will display their ideas and inventions for the President and the wider viewing public. If you'd like a complete list of presenters, here you go.
President Obama also released significant details outlining several new education initiatives today. Not all of them will be presented here, and I will refer readers to the full White House press release.
The initiatives present continued funding, enhanced funding, or new plans to augment science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Some of the new STEM goals include:
STEM Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grants.
Nationwide effort to engage Hispanic youth in STEM.
Global initiative to connect STEM students from around the world.
Expansion of STEM-based AmeriCorps.
Partnership with NASA and Khan Academy to provide free, online STEM education.
ESRI to provide ArcGIS Online for Education accounts to every K-12 school in the United States.
The President has also issued a "Call To Action" to all existing business partners, including Time/Warner, the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), and the newly established White House Maker Corps.
For more details, please check the White House press release here.
On Monday, April 28th, Alexis Ohanian was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Next Big Thing Conference at Murray State University. Alexis Ohanian, graduate of UVA, is the co-founder of the social media website, reddit. Alexis was invited to address young people participating in the Next Big Thing Conference, an event inviting young entrepreneurs from western Kentucky to Murray State and allowing them the opportunity to present new and unique ideas and inventions. The event is sponsored by the Innovation and Commercialization Center (ICC) at Murray State University.
Alexis also has a new book out, detailing the efforts he and his co-founder, Steve Huffman, encountered while developing reddit. "Without Their Permission: The 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed" provides commentary and insights to people looking for advice and knowledge in working through their own start-up woes.
(Pictured is Alexis Ohanian and Murray State's Rudy Ottway, IET professor (JCSET))
March 14th - March 15th, 2014 brings the annual SoutheastCon. Held at the University of Kentucky, the IEEE SoutheastCon brings together IEEE teams from around the Commonwealth to participate in a hardware-based competition, i.e. build a robot to accomplish some goal.
This year's Student Hardware Competition brings a challenge very appropriate for both Kentucky and the time of year. The 2014 challenge involves designing a robot to shoot a projectile from various distances to emulate the playing and shooting dynamics of basketball.
What better challenge than one aligned with basketball, SEC tournament play, and NCAA March Madness?
The objective will to build a a robot that operates on a simulated basketball court. The robot must follow three lines with randomly positioned shooting blocks and then fire a dart while positioned on top of the shooting block. Winners will be decided by number of points earned by completing goals and completion time so the highest scoring robots will be both fast and precise.
Friday and Saturday, teams will assemble and test their robots. Saturday afternoon, teams will compete, culminating in the awards ceremony Saturday night. Throughout each day, other activities are available, ranging from leadership training workshops, workshops on renewable energy, and RaspberryPi tutorials.
Two Murray State Engineering Graphics and Design majors, Brooke Jones and Gavin Suver, designed and created custom Murray State-themed chocolate molds for Valentine's Day. Rudy Ottway, IET faculty, supervised their efforts.
