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   * **5.** Research Status
-===== Week 1: 06/02/17 - 06/11/17 ======
+===== Week 1: 06/02/18 - 06/11/18 ======
 First week in South Korea has been one of the most exciting weeks of my life. I not only focused on research, but I also had the honor to meet some Korean locals who showed me around Daejeon. The objective of this week was to get accustomed with the university, dorm, and Daejeon.
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 ==== 2. New Korean that I met ====
-{{:img_9456.jpg?200|}}
+{{:img_9456.jpg?300|}}
 Except for Dongbin, no one was ready for this picture. Dongbin was kind enough to come and visit Yu Hang and I. Also, he introduced us to his best friend who works at a thermo-fluid dynamics lab at KAIST. He shared some of the projects he is working on with us, and also told us about Korea. I had a great time with everyone; Yu Hang and I especially had a good time getting filled up with a lot of delicious meat.
 ==== 3. Cultural Insight ====
+{{:img_9388.jpg?400|}}
+This is the first picture I want to talk about because the food was delicious, and it's a memory I will never forget. I enjoy seafood, so this was the best opportunity to eat fresh seafood from the ocean. Jamie and Sunyou took me to a seafood restaurant to have traditional Korean seafood. It's the best seafood I have ever had in my entire life. It tasted so fresh, and there was so much of it.
+{{:img_9386.jpg?400|}}
+The next place they took me was a seafood market. It was crowded and it smelled like fish everywhere, but I enjoyed seeing all the variety they had to offer. I wish we had a place like this back at home so I could eat more seafood, with a lot of variety, and at a reasonable price. This was located right next to the ocean, so I suppose fisherman bring in the seafood and then it's sold here at the seafood street market.
+{{:img_9315.jpg?400|}}
+The reason I include this beach is because a couple of years ago this beach used to be covered in oil from an oil spill. Today, the beach is extremely clean. It's not really a cultural insight, but it's interesting to visit a Korean beach.
+{{:982dc683-a51b-47af-9b5b-a6de32daff33.jpg?400|}}
+I have to bring attention to everyone reading this about the best dessert I have ever had. I am obsessed with Bingsu, a Korean milk ice sorbet. I always get this dessert at every cafe I go. I look forward to indulging as much as possible in this dessert. I am going to miss this a lot.
+==== 4. What I learned about myself ====
+{{:img_9455.jpg?400|}}
+Unfortunately, I learned many things this week about myself, and I wish I knew them before. I am thankful I had the opportunity to experience Korea because it opened many doors for me. I learned about time management and what it means to be a researcher. Sometimes I like to complain about how much I work, but in reality, anything we want comes with hard work. I sat at my first lab meeting with Dongbin and saw one lab student have 7 current projects by himself - these projects are very difficult. We tend to complain or not understand the amount of work research takes. My lab members, not only get in trouble, but they pull all nighters on the road to research. It amazes me the amount of work they do, and how dedicated they are. It starts with a strong lab culture and dedication. If someone is not willing to put in the work, then him or her don't belong in research. I learned to not complain and do as I am told. If I can't do something, then it means I need to try harder and spend more time doing it. Also, when I start a new project, I have to learn to build everything from zero and not try to do things the easy way. Attending the lab meeting has taught me very much.
+==== 5. Research Status ====
+{{::img_9461.png?400|}}
+This is an example of a small optical sensor. My first new project is designing and integrating an optical flow sensor into these micro drones. The purpose of this is so that the drone can fly indoor and know its position. This technology is very useful, but unfortunately there are not many products out there on micro optical flow sensors, so I will have to learn to design my own. I don't know how far I will get with this project before I leave, but hopefully I can have enough done so the next person that will work on it will have an easier time.
+Additionally, I received another side project and that is to design a net deployment mechanism for the drone. Hansoub, a lab member, is working on drone catching using a single point camera, but the current drone is too large of a drag. He wants to create a mechanism to launch the drone right before catching the other.
+{{:599d6141-903c-4f4e-9d80-725d2f62a2e5.jpg?300|}}
+While researching, Inhwan and I are working on building the 100 drones for the drone show. They don't take that long, but there are very many to build. I am improving my soldering skills.
+{{::img_9458.jpg?300|}}
+I am still working on designing a launch platform so that the micro drone can easily be charged, and it can launch easily with minimal human interaction. This project may have to be put on a standby until I get the electromagnets.
+{{::img_9370.jpg?400|}} {{::img_9357.jpg?400|}}
+While this is not directly linked to my research, it was a great experience to learn. The plane in the image above is controlled from a ground station. I was able to sit in the control room, and see how they flew the plane while it was not controlled by the pilot inside the plane.
+===== Week 6: 07/09/18 - 07/16/18 ======
+==== 1. Photo of the week ====
+{{::img_9677.jpg?400|}}
+This was Inhwan and I working late at night trying to mount the ultrasonic beacons and correctly get the position of the mobile beacon. The reason this is my photo of the week is because many members of this lab do not go home or go to sleep until they finish what they are working on. We stayed up until two in the morning that day and we finally got it to indicate the position with very good accuracy.
+I believe that this is a very good mindset to have as an engineer because problems may arise that need to be fixed very fast. Many of their lab members don't sleep at night trying to finish what they have started. This to me shows how passionate and dedicated these lab members are.
+==== 2. New Korean that I met ====
+I unfortunately did not meet a new Korean outside of the lab due to the work. Instead, a new master's student joined the lab, and him and I went out for some Korean chicken. He actually taught me many things about the Korean culture, especially the work culture in the country. It was a great time learning about universities and all the projects he is working on. He is new to Daejeon, so I will be more than happy to show him around the places I have been to.
+==== 3. Cultural Insight ====
+{{::img_9580.jpg?400|}}
+It's actually a very good experience to take the bus. Many Koreans don't have cars, but opt for the bus which is cheaper. Most students in America have cars at a very early age, such as high school, but in Korea most students take public transportation. It's amazing to see how on-time the buses are and how popular public transportation is. I feel as if it's shameful to tell someone in Las Vegas that I use the bus, while in Korea it is totally acceptable.
+I am starting to like public transportation more and more because it's cheap and I can work on something else. I really dislike driving because it's stressful, and I have to focus on it for a long time. Taking a bus is also fun because I can do more sightseeing. I wish we had a better public transportation system in the United States.
+==== 4. What I learned about myself ====
+Passion! I want to start off by talking about passion. I got very little hours of sleep this weekend. My friends back at home ask me how I am still alive and I reply with one word - passion. When we are passionate about something we can achieve anything we want, and we don't mind making sacrifices to get there. We know we enjoy doing something when we don't mind losing sleep over it. While I don't recommend this because it may be detrimental to our health, losing sleep has shown me what I enjoy doing. I don't mind sleeping 3-4 hours a night if it means I can do what I enjoy doing. I have learned what I am passionate about and how far I am wiling to go to get there. We can test if we are passionate about something by missing sleep over it and seeing how we feel the next day. If we are disappointed and hate it, then it's not a passion. I really enjoy working here, and feel as if I really do want to make a different in the very little time I have left.
+==== 5. Research Status ====
+Before I begin talking about my status, I would like to show you what Professor Shim wants. My lab is located inside the KI building, and he wants there to be a drone show inside. As you can see in the image below, there is a large distance from the bottom to the top and from side to side, so indoor positioning is very difficult to achieve.
+{{::img_9701.jpg?200|}}
+The first part of the week was spending on finding new ideas about implementing the optical flow sensor only to realize that it does not work because it's limited by height. The plan was to do a pcb design of a small sensor and have it reviewed by an electrical engineer at the lab because I have very little knowledge of PCB design. Most of the time was spent learning and implementing. I did a lot of research on the type of MC to use and what parts. I studied the schematics of another optical flow sensor in the hope that I can use it as a guide.
+The change of plan prompted us to go with ultrasonic beacons because the range is very high - 50 meters with 2cm accuracy. We installed, calibrated, and learned more about the system. The next step is trying to improve the accuracy of it to 2cm because it's not as great right now. This actually may be the future of indoor navigation since it's very accurate at a large distance. The only downside is that similar to motion capture, beacons have to be strategically placed.
+{{::img_9697.jpg?400|}}
+This is the final picture we took that shows the path of the mobile beacon. It's quite accurate, but improvements can be made. The difficult part now is taking this and creating mobile beacons for 50 micro drones. The next goal will be to take on drone and see if we can get the position from it accurately.
+{{::img_9703.png?200|}}
+Last week I designed a launch holder, and we tested this. The drone has no problems flying from it. I am now waiting for the electromagnets to arrive.
+We also worked on the design of the cart that will carry all the drones. This cart has to be sent to a company so they can custom make it. It may not come before I leave but I will try to do as much as possible to help.
+{{::img_9704.jpg?300|}}
+For my side project I worked a little on Matlab and learning about particle swarm optimization mostly to learn. PSO can be used to control a fleet of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. This is mostly a group of particles searching for the best course.
+{{::img_9514.jpg?300|}}
+Additionally, we began building the micro drones. We have to solder and tape the GPS, which is very tedious work. We made 55 drones so far and we are waiting on the next package to arrive with more drones.
+===== Week 7: 07/16/17 - 07/23/17 ======
+I would like to start off this week's journal by giving a small introduction. Most of this week was spent in Seoul and Incheon because of a workshop between General Atomics and the Korean Civil RPAS Research Center. We departed Daejeon on Tuesday and drove to Hanseo University, then drove to Songo International Business Center. After, we went to Seoul to travel during the weekend.
+==== 1. Photo of the week ====
+{{::img_9842.jpg?400|}}
+This photo is at the General Atomics conference. The reason we attended this conference was because Professor Shim is a director of some program that integrates UAVs, and a Phd student is working on a collision avoidance city that is part of the program. Actually, one of the GA engineers focus on collision avoidance. This trip was an amazing time to bond with the lab, my professor, and to receive valuable advice from the engineers at General Atomics. At this workshop I learned a lot how UAVs are integrated into society and the requirement for a vehicle like the predator drone to fly in another country.
+==== 2. New Korean that I met ====
+Even though I don't have a picture, I met the parents of one of a lab member. They were extremely kind. They didn't speak english, but I still understood wha they were saying and Inhwan helped me understand. So far, I have met people at my lab or around KAIST, so it's a great way to meet a Korean family and learn from their culture. Meeting them was an amazing experience for me. They were extremely hospitable, and I thank them in so many ways.
+==== 3. Cultural Insight ====
+{{::img_9761.jpg?400|}}
+This is budae jjigae and it's one of my favorite foods to eat when I am in a rush. It's extremely delicious and fulfilling. I am thinking about learning how to make it for when I come back to Las Vegas. The most interesting thing about the budae jjigae is the history behind it. It's a mix between American and Korean food because after the war Koreans used surplus American food and combined it with ramen and other Korean ingredients to create this delicious dish. It is still popular now.
+{{:img_9831.jpg?400|}}
+This is my favorite city that I ever been to. Songdo in Incheon, Korea is made to be a smart city. It's very futuristic with large roads and many parks. It looked like I was on another planet. The city was very clean, and the buildings looked very futuristic. They even have a central trash system for the apartments so there are no trash bins. The only downside to this city is that it seemed lonely, but I think it will grow as more people begin accepting that type of living. I really enjoyed the city because this is the city of the future.
+{{:img_9966.jpg?400|}}
+We went to the Korea Memorial Museum on Friday. This is the saddest thing I could ever see. They drew a representation of what seemed to look like a family during the Korean War. This is a very sad image because the child has to grow up in that condition with probably no food to eat. The mom probably is starving, trying to save the food so her children can have it. While not discussed regularly, there are many places in Korea that still remind citizens of the hardships they endured during the Korean War. The positive side of this picture is showing how developed Korea has become now. It went from that image to a growing economy with a lot of potential. Regardless, it's still very unfortunate and sad to look at the past.
+{{:img_0039.jpg?400|}}
+It's very hot outside so many Koreans enjoy going next to the river for festivals or different events. This is at the Han River, and there are many food trucks here with loud music and happy people. It's a great environment to be in. Koreans enjoy going out to the park and interacting with others. Maybe I don't see this in Las Vegas because it's very hot.
+==== 4. What I learned about myself ====
+I learned a lot from the General Atomics visitors. One of the most important things I learned from talking with them is to have goals set. It's extremely important to have goals and know exactly what I want to do. Life moves very quickly and if we don't have a goal we can end up in places we don't want to be. Since I have two years left in my undergraduate, I need to start thinking what I want to do after. Also, I learned that I am not the type to open my own business, so I would much rather work at a company.
+==== 5. Research Status ====
+My research has been slowed down a little by the workshop with General Atomics. Even though it doesn't relate to my research, I found the collision system employed by General Atomics to be the most interesting. NASA flew a predator drone in commercial airspace as seen in this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3pZPNJVIQ8|video]].
+{{::img_9859.jpg?400|}}
+This is what they designed and it worked very well as shown in the video above.
+Before going on to this workshop, I was able to get the IMU data from the mobile beacon based on the ultrasonic sensors. This is very important because most of the drone positions come from raw IMU data. The next step is to integrate this into one of the micro drone and set the position from the computer. Once we do that, we can add more drones and hopefully create a small image indoor using only ultrasonic beacons.
+{{::img_9747.jpg?400|}}
+===== Week 8: 07/23/18 - 07/30/18 ======
+==== 1. Photo of the week ====
+{{::img_0333.jpg?400|}}
+This is considered photo of the week because we were redesigning the launch pad. To me this is what engineering is all about - working in a team to find a solution. We were exhausted and we kept running out of ideas but the most important thing is that we didn't give up. Ideas were thrown out on paper and we kept debating them. I am extremely grateful that I am able to participate and make some impact on their project. This was a very insightful experience. Afterwards, we went to Dunkin Donuts to finish designing since we believed that getting some donuts would help.
+==== 2. New Korean that I met ====
+This week I met 윤미 who was very kind as to teach me a lot about Korean culture. She has a degree in public relations, so she is very informed about the relationship between the US and South Korea. I would also like to add that she speaks English fluently, very close to a native speaker which was very impressive. It also made it easier for me to understand the difficult topics she was discussing. We discussed many things from how Americans are perceived in Korea to the different cultural acceptance between the elder and the younger generations in Korea.
+==== 3. Cultural Insight ====
+I did not take a picture of this but I found it very interesting. The subways in Korea have numbers under the door (ex. 7-4, 3-8) and this tells them what subway car they should board so the transfer to another train will be quicker. The subways are very long in Korea and time is limited. Once again, this reinforces the Korean culture of not wasting time.
+{{::img_0269.jpg?400|}}
+The picture above shows the entrance to the manufacturing "district." It's very convenient because almost everything related to hardware is located there. One can laser cut, PCB design boards, buy any supplies they need, and request any service. There are many small shops located in one very large area. I believe that this is extremely convenient.
+{{:img_0488.jpg?400|}}
+I would like to begin by saying that I lack artistic capabilities, but I managed to design something very decent. Koreans are into pottery making and ceramics. There are even many cities in Korea dedicated to ceramics. I decided to give it a try since I would definitely be stepping out of my comfort zone. It turned out to be very fun, but the entire time I was very focused. I suggest that other students in the future spend a few hours of their week to relax by doing something very fun.
+{{::img_0489.png?400|}}
+I decided to give VR a try and I have to say that it was amazing. I had a lot of fun playing different games. VR games are very popular in Korea among young adults. I was surprised to see the long waiting lines. As a side note, my back was very wet from carrying a backpack in this high humidity. I am definitely now used to the Korean humidity.
+==== 4. What I learned about myself ====
+This week has been very disappointing because we realized that most of the designs had to be changed once again. It is extremely frustrating when things don't work out the way they should. Nevertheless, I learned that one should never give up. Engineering is all about failing and constantly trying new ways to improve the previous conditions.
+I learned that it's alright to fail, and that everyone makes mistakes. I usually don't like failure because I like getting something right the first time around, but life doesn't work like that. Actually, we finally designed something much better than our first prototype because we didn't give up.
+This also correlates to my dislike of a software, Fusion360. Back at the lab in Las Vegas I was against using Fusion 360 and because of that I never learned to use it. Well, I had no choice in my lab here but to use Fusion 360. I learned it quickly and I began understanding it well. Now I enjoy modeling with it. Sometimes, I reach conclusions too fast without giving it a second thought. This is a very big mistake because I run the risk of missing out on many things.
+==== 5. Research Status ====
+The first project was to redesign the launch pad once again. We believe that. so far, this is the best model we have. I took the time to design one tray in Fusion 360. The only thing left is to order the parts according to the dimensions suggested.
+{{::img_0366.png?300|}} {{::img_0490.jpg?300|}}
+The project involving indoor swarming has ended up being a problem. The beacon I originally intended to use is to heavy for the microdrones. Of course, another lab member suggested I use another company called decawave which makes smaller problems. The only problem, and the biggest problem, is that it uses two-way ranging which means that the more drones added the less range there will be. Another problem is that the maximum tested distance is 10m. We need something up to 40-50 meters. After getting familiar with decawave I realized that it's not the suitable option since I have a very short time left.
+{{::img_0491.jpg?300|}}
+As seen above the first beacon suggested, using ultrasonic is too large to be mounted on these micro drones. The lab members suggested that I build my own drone and use the ultrasonic beacon to control its position indoors. I don't really know how that is possible in two weeks, but I will definitely give it a try and will do my best to get it done.
+{{::img_0492.jpg?200|}}
+My goal is to finish this by Monday night so I can start using the beacon and send its position. This is a great way to get started on indoor drone swarm with larger drones because they're able to carry the beacon. I am also a little nervous because I have never attempted to fly indoors like this.
+The two month time constraint is a big issue because there is a lot of research that can be done. For example, the best one is how to increase the number of drones in a 3d space, while increasing accuracy and range.
+===== Week 9: 07/30/17 - 08/06/17 ======
+==== 1. Photo of the week ====
+{{::img_0807.jpg?400|}}
+Yu Hang and I both had the opportunity to tour the DMZ and go to the JSA. The JSA was interesting to me because it's as close as I can get to North Korea. Additionally, the place always finds itself in the news and in movies. Seeing it in pictures is definitely not the same as experiencing it. The minute we got there we could feel the tense situation. It was extremely quiet, and not much seemed to be going around. We both got a lot of history from it, and I believe that it was one of the best opportunities for us. The place still continues to write history.
+==== 2. Cultural Insight ====
+{{:img_0853.jpg?300|}}
+This picture is taken inside the DMZ and explains that nothing has been forgotten. The Korean War is still be a big part of Korea, and it definitely changed the course of history. I enjoy learning about how wars impact society.
+We also went to the UN Memorial Museum that is dedicated to all the UN troops that sacrificed their lives during the Korean War.
+{{::img_1082.jpg?400|}}
+Yu Hang and I accidentally ran into an outdoor concert on Saturday night. We didn't expect there to be that many people, but it turned out to be a very good experience since we got to see what an outdoor Korean kpop concert was like. There's always something to do in Korea on a weekend. Koreans really enjoy gathering outside even when it's humid and hot. Again, this goes back to when I was in Seoul and we went to the Han River where there was music and delicious food.
+==== 3. What I learned about myself ====
+I think this week made me realize that it's sometimes good to go out and interact with people. Most of the time I spend in the lab or at school. Even when I finish my work, I still stay in the lab and just read articles and different papers. It's alright to do that but it can be exhausting if done continuously. Actually this little break really helped me. Even when I am back in Las Vegas I usually spend all my time in the lab, which is not healthy.
+==== 4. Research Status ====
+While waiting for the drone parts, I studied microelectronics. A lab colleague suggested I study the textbook because he did that and now he's very proficient at Eagle. It's actually a great skill to be able to PCB design because you change the boards in any way you like.
+Additionally, I looked into our final project of creating a constellation with swarm drones. Me mentor has taught me a lot on how to take an image of the constellation and then translate them to GPS coordinates for the micro drone.
+{{::img_1220.jpg?400|}}
+Towards the end of the week I finished building up my drone. This the completed product. The next step to finish my project is have the drone hold its position based only on the ultrasonic beacons.