Tuesday, June 27, 2006 - In lieu of a journal entry,  here's the progress report I filled out as part of my program's requirements.

Please give a brief description of your project.

ElderCare, also referred to as ElderTech, is a project that uses advanced technology to address the mobility and cognitive impairments of older members of the population. It specifically addresses the risks associated with living independently as these impairments progress to help elders remain independent for as long as possible.

We are developing an integrated monitoring system that captures data about elderresidents and their living environment in a noninvasive manner. It will use this data to extract patterns of activity that might indicate unsafe events. For example, a floor vibration sensor might detect that a resident has fallen, and the nurse on duty could be automatically paged. A temperature sensor might detect that a stove burner is on, while a motion sensor might detect that nobody has been in the kitchen for quite some time, at which point the monitoring system could ask the resident whether they meant to leave their stove on.

My part in this project has been developing the web site that will assist in monitoring. On this site, data will be viewable by nurses, elders' adult children, and the elder residents themselves. The site will allow data to be displayed in an intuitive format, and it will allow rules to be set for interpretation of that data.

How many weeks have you worked so far, and how many weeks do you have left?

Just over 5 weeks done, just under 5 weeks left.

What is the status of your project? (include what you have accomplished so far and what you expect to accomplish in the rest of the summer)

The researcher I am working most closely with has been out sick a lot, so when I wasn't sure what to work on, I researched different technologies that could be useful to our piece of the project, the web application. It is being developed using a web application framework called Catalyst, which is built on the Perl programming language. Since I did not know Perl or Catalyst when I came here, this has been a great learning experience. I've also learned about Subversion (a versioning system), taken a peek at Ajax, tried out action scripting to generate Flash, and expanded my Linux knowledge. I've worked up several proof-of-concept pages to demonstrate ways that we could dynamically visualize our data ([Edit: Links updated and clarified] floorplan mockup, 1D data mockup, bubble chart mockup). My biggest single accomplishment so far has been using Catalyst and Perl to change the way our fledgling web app accesses the database (from using straight SQL code to using DBIx::Class, which allows tables to be represented as classes or objects).

Now that I've made this change to the web app, I have a better understanding of how it works and would like to see how I can improve it. I have a few ideas for enhancements and features I can add. I'd also like to share my ideas for visualizations with someone who will be here long-term. I might try to create a second visualization besides the one we already have running on our web app.

What has been your biggest challenge so far?

The researcher I should be working most closely with has been out sick a lot, so I've tried to be self-directed and find myself productive things to work on. 

What is the most exciting thing that has happened so far?

I'm pretty excited about the big step I just completed today of changing the way our web application accesses the database (see question on project status).

What is your working environment? For example, how frequently do you meet your mentor, the grad students in your group, others in the department, etc? Are you working on your project alone, with another undergrad, or with a graduate student? Have you attended any research talks?

There are 4 undergrads (including myself) and about 9 workstations in this room. Sometimes other researchers will come in to use a computer or hold a meeting, but mostly they work in one of the cubicles in the room adjacent. A couple of people have offices across the hallway. The people I work with the most are my group of 4, since we work in the same room and keep similar hours. The 4 of us are working on 3 different aspects of the project, though, so the person I work with most regarding my piece of the project is one of the other researchers, a grad student. There is a weekly meeting of the project team that incorporates computer science folks, nursing folks, and more.

What is your housing and roommate situation?

I'm staying at home with my family, since I'm from this area.

Is there anything else that you would like us to know about your experience?

[Same answer as next question]

I enjoy the free structured environment - being trusted to complete my work on my own, being given the independence to pursue different pieces of the project, not having to keep a timesheet. It's different from a lot of other places I've worked at, but I think it's a good setup for my working style.

Is there anything you would like to tell your mentor (these comments, if any, will be forwarded to your mentor)?

I enjoy the free structured environment - being trusted to complete my work on my own, being given the independence to pursue different pieces of the project, not having to keep a timesheet. It's different from a lot of other places I've worked at, but I think it's a good setup for my working style.