Research Assistant
June 2021 – Present
The Embedded Sensing and Computing Group (ESC Group) is a research lab at UB led by Dr. Wenyao Xu. The lab is focused on the application of computing to several industries, including healthcare and manufacturing. My work has been focused on writing software two of the lab’s projects: Mellowing Mind and STREAM.
Mellowing Mind
Mellowing Mind is smart health application focused on the application of mindfulness to improve mental health in underserved communities. The app guides users through a series of exercises to help reduce stress and anxiety. Data collected through the app is also being used in an ongoing study to determine the efficacy of this mode of treatment.
I joined the app development team while the project was in progress. The app is built using Dart, Flutter, and Firebase. I implemented the personal reflection system, created the data collection system, added and updated weekly activities, revamped the daily check-in, and deployed the app to production. I continue to maintain this project today, having been on the app team for over two years.
STREAM
STREAM is an ongoing project at UB and ASU focused on the creation of a platform for coordinating distributed manufacturing processes. The first phase of the project has been focused on rapidly building working prototypes. So far, the team has successfully built a working prototype of a 3D printer coordination system, effectively creating a digital twin. This digital twin can be accessed through both web and AR interfaces. This initial protype won first place in the Agrusa CSE Student Innovation Competition 2022. It was also accepted as a demo paper in ACM SenSys 2022.
I joined the STREAM project when it first began in spring of 2022. I have been working on the platform’s backend, using Python and AWS to build a message broker and apply machine learning for object detection. I also built an AR interface for the project using Unity and the Oculus SDK.