by amartya banerjee
We have been experimenting with smaller, custom web applications for research projects. For this year's deployment of TunePad at Evanston-Skokie District 65, we have a newer technical stack based on Node (of course with a mix of client-side TypeScript, a PostgreSQL datastore etc.). Our web applications
The purpose of this guide is to help someone setup a secure websocket server on any Ubuntu VM (AWS/Linode/Digital Ocean/Azure etc.). Given the current state of the world , supporting features such as collaborative editing and real-time chat became almost essential to TunePad's long term
Since completing my Ph.D., I have been working as a HCI Researcher and Software Lead on the TunePad project . TunePad is a tool for creating music using the Python programming language. It has various musical instruments (bass, drums, synthesizer, sequencer etc.) that are programmable, a healthy library of tutorials
As we got closer to opening up TunePad to more classrooms, we wanted to have some web analytics set up. While Google Analytics is almost the default choice in such a scenario, we were looking for alternatives. Fathom seemed promising. This guide documents the installation and deployment process. It draws
A small project to add a remote unlocking option to an old car.
From my childhood, I have loved cars; perhaps it should not be surprising that my graduate studies would involve cars in some form or the other. However, I count myself as being extremely fortunate that my advisor ( Mike! ) let me to formulate and investigate a research problem for my PhD
I designed and developed an Apple Watch application to let museum visitors navigate galleries of interest more easily, communicate/share data between the watch and a museum's interactive displays for content personalization, and also save snippets of interesting information along the way. The interaction stages for the smartwatch
The Digital Rails project was done in partnership with the fine folks at Chicago's Field Museum . The museum had recently opened up a state-of-the-art gallery called the Hall of China with the intention 0f educating museum visitors about China's complex history using historical/
Changing the CV-axle, upper-control arms, and stabilizer bar links.
Front brake repair (rotor + brake pads) on the Acura Legend.
Could NATO put in place an “Article 5 for cyber crime” into effect? Basically a modern day equivalent that could read “The parties agree that a cyber-attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered a cyber- attack against them
What do Google Maps, Apple Maps and Bing Maps (Nokia Here?) mean for the future of mobility? Reading Justin O’Beirne’s essays comparing cartography design between Apple and Google made me wonder whether Apple can compete with Google when self-driving cars are more the norm rather
When I started working at the TIDAL Lab in 2012, a project that investigated family practices around appliances and household energy usage was already in place ( NSF grant ). Over the next couple of years, we developed two "board games" to investigate if a thoughtfully designed board game can
GhostHunter started as an offshoot of the GreenHomeGames NSF grant , where we were exploring ways to augment traditional heating and cooling systems controls (such as the thermostats) in homes to help families learn about their energy footprint. energy use is "invisible", how can we make it more tangible/
We added various actuators, sensors, and a micro-controller to a frisbee that could be used to give throw feedback to an ultimate frisbee player. left: exploded view of circuit components, middle: after mounting on a custom designed and etched circuit board, and right: mounted on a frisbee, note the