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Week # 1 (May 31 - June 3) - Organized By Day

Howdy! This week was a great week, as I was introduced to the Parasol Laboratory, basics of motion planning, and met many new people. I also finished the crash course and read many papers, which all aided me in learning more about my pursuing field. Overall, I learned a lot, and I am looking forward to the next one.

Monday, May 30, 2016

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Had an introductory breakfast.
Introduced to office by Read and Diane, and was given a key to the lab.
Met Dr. Amato and the rest of the PhD students.
Set up accounts and finished Lesson 0 (personal website), thanks to the help of Read and Mr. David Ramirez.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Attended Chinwe Ekenna’s Defense (9 am): This helped me understand Sampling and Local Learning in PRMs.
Began Lesson 1 of the crash course (Motion Planning and PRMs).
Attended Jory Denny’s Defense (2 pm): I really enjoyed this defense since it was directly correlated to what we were currently learning. This allowed me to comprehend basic samplers and the role and process of the PRM.
Finished Lesson 1.
Read first three papers at home (“How to Read a Research Paper”, “Motion Planning: A Journey of Robots, Molecules, Digital Actors, and Other Artifacts”, “Probabilistic Roadmaps for Path Planning in High-Dimensional Configuration Spaces”).
On “How to Read a Research Paper”, it emphasized that a strategy must be applied in order to fully comprehend a research paper. This paper aided me in the upcoming reads and prevented me from falling into boredom.
On “Motion Planning: A Journey of Robots, Molecules, Digital Actors, and Other Artifacts”, it described the history and previous achievements of motion planning. This introduced me to the basics of motion planning, such as, the basic goal: to find a collision free path for a robot among rigid static obstacles.
On “Probabilistic Roadmaps for Path Planning in High-Dimensional Configuration Spaces”, it talks about the process of a PRM and how it has impacted the Motion Planning community. This helped me comprehend what is a PRM and how it helps in motion planning.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Started and finished discussion questions of Lesson 1 Started on Lesson 2 (PMPL and Vizmo: Tools for Solving Motion Planning Problems).
Attended Welcome Luncheon (11:30 am): The food was great, and I got to meet and talk to some of the other REU students.
Completed discussion questions of Lesson 2.
Had a meeting with Read and Diane about Lesson 1 and 2. This discussion cleared some of the misunderstanding we had, and Read simplified: Motion Planning, PRMs, and PMPL.
Begun Lesson 3 (Getting Started with Physical Robots).
Read, “An Imitation of Life” and “A Machine that Learns”, at home.
On “An Imitation of Life”, it describes a study conducted on a robot, named Elmer, that is taken through experiments to mimic the basic features of an animal. This helped me understand the complexity of robot behavior and the dependence of robots on human beings.
“A Machine that Learns” is a follow-up of “An Imitation of Life”, in which they try to make the robot conditioned to certain behaviors. They attempt to do this through the addition of several sensors and mechanisms to simulate the learning process. This introduced me to the basic mechanics needed for a robot to do basic tasks, and how difficult it is to get a robot to learn.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Re-read “An Imitation of Life” and “A Machine that Learns”, to ensure I grasped these two experiments.
Worked on the weekly report.
Began working with the Create Robots, and implemented prior C++ knowledge to make the robot do basic movements and reactions.

Goals for Next Week (June 6-10, 2016):

Goal 1 : Become more familiar with the Create Robots.
Goal 2 : Become more familiar with terminal and 8 hr workdays.
Goal 3 : Become gradually more comfortable with PhD students.

Week # 2 (June 6 - June 10) - Organized By Day

Howdy! This week was mainly getting familiar with the Creates and how we will be utilizing them throughout the summer. We explored the basic functionality of a robot and how it works. We also attempted to build a RobotController, which will be our future means of communication with the Create.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Finished up experimenting with Lesson 2 (Hello World).
Began Lesson 3 (Robot Controller), in which we organized into groups of 3 to implement a robot controller class.
Had a bit of difficulty with some of the programming in C++, after not using it for 2 years.
Read and Saurabn, assisted us in some of the concerns and errors we were encountering.
Brushed up at home with some of the basics in C++, such as classes and header files.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Continued working on Lesson 3.
Had a Motion Planning Group Meeting (11 am): In this meeting we reintroduced ourselves by doing the name game, and some of the Graduate Researchers presented the current status of their research. I really enjoyed their projects, and I was able to gain familiarity with what they are researching.
As a group, we got rid of the errors we were encountering in our program.
Began testing the code with the Creates, and was unsuccessful.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Continued working on Lesson 3
Attended the first Brown Bag Lecture at the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building (12pm).
Briefly worked on Lesson 3, and succeeded on moving the robot.
Attended Troy McMahon’s PhD Defense (Sampling Based Motion Planning with Reachable Volumes): I really enjoyed this defense because it brought into perspective an extension for motion planning for jointed robots, in other words constrained motion planning.
Again, briefly worked on Lesson 3.
Went to dinner at Chicken Oil Company to celebrate the recent PhD recipients: Jory Denny, Chinwe Ekenna, and Troy McMahon.

Thursday, June 9, 2016 - 8 hrs

Progressed even further on Lesson 3’s Robot Controller.
Worked on getting the Create to turn the precise amount, according to the user input.
Worked on the weekly outline.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Made the Create properly recognize and react to bumps.
Organized the code.
Finished the weekly outline.
Learned some new command keys for terminal from Brandon.
Finished Lesson 3 (Robot Controller).
Began Lesson 4 (Multi-Agent Systems).

Goals for Next Week (June 13-17, 2016):

Goal 1 : Become more proficient with C++.
Goal 2 : Finish Lesson 4.
Goal 3 : Become more comfortable with PhD students.

Week # 3 (June 13 - June 17) - Organized By Day

Howdy! This week consisted of finishing up the Multi Agent Behavior lesson on the crash course, and brushing up on our previous C++ knowledge through programming exercises. We were also presented with our summer project, split into teams and were assigned roles. We split into 3 teams: Environment Modeling, Aruco Markers, and IR Sensors. We look forward to the next week as we will be starting our assigned section of the project.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Continued on Lesson 4 ( Multi-Agent Systems ) of the Crash Course.
Researched on ways to solve the multi-threading situation of Lesson 4.
Had a discussion with Read and Saurabh regarding some of the problems we were having with Lesson 4.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Applied the information we received from Read and Saurabh
Finished Lesson 4.
Attended Motion Planning Meeting.
Read the entire C++ Crash Course.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Began on Lesson 1 of the C++ Crash Course.
Attended C++ Lecture with Irving.
Continued working on sub lessons 1-2
Finished sub lessons 1-2

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Began sub lesson 3.
Attended C++ Lecture with Irving.
Finished sub lesson 3.
Had a meeting with Read and Saurabh to discuss our summer project.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Began sub lesson 4.
Finished sub lesson 4.
Discussed with Read and Saurabh and assigned roles to each of the three teams.
My group ( Daniel Leal, Marcos Pena, and David Leal ) was assigned the Aruco Markers.
Explored some of the functionality of the Aruco Markers.

Goals for Next Week (June 20-24, 2016):

Goal 1 : Become more familiar with the Aruco Markers code.
Goal 2 : Discover a way to fix the compute distance/heading functions in Marker Percept.

Week # 4 (June 20 - June 24) - Organized By Day

Howdy! This week consisted of linking the netbook's ArucoMarkers and MarketPercept with the Desktop's RobotController, getting familar with the code, and discovering the limitations of the Aruco Marker Detection system. We also set up our website and were successful in creating a thread to broadcast to the netbook. We look forward to the next week as we will be incorporating the RobotController's functions along with the ArucoMarkers.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Continued getting familiar with the Aruco Markers code.
Measured the Maximum and Minimum Aruco Marker Detection range for the Camera.
Discovered the displays’ accuracy on the code for Large and Small Aruco Markers.
Discussed code with Saurabh.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Got personal Parasol website up to date.
Submitted link to DREU for reviewal.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Continued analyzing Aruco Markers code.
Created Marker Detection function in RobotController.
Brainstormed some of the problems we might encounter in our team.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Worked on linking the RobotController code with the netbook’s Aruco Detector and Marker Percept.
Attended Motion Planning Group Meeting, in which Read talked about the status of his current research.
Worked with Saurabh to successfully bring together the Aruco Detector and Marker Percept files.
Created an attachable plow for the Create.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Attended Campus Tour: Game of Thrones Collection at Cushing Memorial Library.
Established a thread in order to successfully broadcast in the netbook.
Planned with Saurabh the objectives for next week.

Goals for Next Week (June 27 - July 1, 2016):

Goal 1: Successfully manage the Aruco Detector amongst the Robot Controller code.
Goal 2: Get the Create to react to the Aruco markers.
Goal 3: Have a good birthday (June 30).

Week # 5 (June 27 - July 1) - Organized By Day

Howdy! This week consisted of getting the functions of the RobotController to function with the ArucoMarker code, experimentation with some of the new functions we were presented, and C++ Exercises. The ArucoMarker code contained some functions that were not as accurate as expected, such as the goToPoint and the Rotate. We look forward to the next week as we expect to increase the current capabilities of the Create.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Attended Irvin’s C++ Crash Course.
Began working on Exercise 1 of Lesson 2.
Finished Exercise 1.
Began working on Exercise 2 of Lesson 2.
Worked on getting the Aruco Marker code to function with the Robot Controller.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Finished Exercise 2.
Attended Irvin’s C++ Crash Course.
Attended Motion Planning Meeting.
Began Exercise 3 of Lesson 2.
Made some modifications to the code in order to manage the functions accessibility towards Robot Controller.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Finished Exercise 3.
Worked on having the robot react to the id’s and distance from the netbook’s broadcast.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Began Exercise 4 of Lesson 2.
Attended Irvin’s C++ Crash Course.
Received assistance from Saurabh, in which he gaves us a piece of code needed to make the robot properly react to info from the netbook.
Experimented with the goToPoint function.
Had a good birthday!!!

Friday, July 1, 2016

Attended Mukalika’s Prelim.
Began Exercise 5 of Lesson 2.
Finished Exercise 5.
Worked on Weekly Outline.
Examined and experimented with some of the functions provided in Saurabh’s code.

Goals for Next Week (July 4 - July 8, 2016):

Goal 1: Make the Rotate and Translate functions more accurate.
Goal 2: Make the Create react to the rest of the Aruco Markers.

Week # 6 (July 4 - July 8) - Organized By Day

Howdy! This week consisted of a lot of testing on the Box Pushing system and the functions needed to have the Create moving along the environment. We utilized and added some functionality to our previous code by adding the previous code completed by the other teams, such as the IR sensors, the Virtual wall, and the Box Pushing function. We also had several C++ lessons, and worked on updating our websites. We look forward to the next week as we will be applying the concepts learned in our lessons to exercise, and further progress into having the Robot be able to assemble the boxes.

Monday, July 4, 2016 (Day Off)

Began working on Exercise 2 of Lesson 2.
Worked on getting the Aruco Marker code to function with the Robot Controller.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Finished Exercise 2.
Attended Irvin’s C++ Crash Course.
Attended Motion Planning Meeting.
Began Exercise 3 of Lesson 2.
Made some modifications to the code in order to manage the functions accessibility towards Robot Controller.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Finished Exercise 3.
Worked on having the robot react to the id’s and distance from the netbook’s broadcast.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Began Exercise 4 of Lesson 2.
Attended Irvin’s C++ Crash Course.
Received assistance from Saurabh, in which he gaves us a piece of code needed to make the robot properly react to info from the netbook.
Experimented with the goToPoint function.
Had a good birthday!!!

Friday, July 1, 2016

Attended Mukalika’s Prelim.
Began Exercise 5 of Lesson 2.
Finished Exercise 5.
Worked on Weekly Outline.
Examined and experimented with some of the functions provided in Saurabh’s code.

Goals for Next Week (July 4 - July 8, 2016):

Goal 1: Make the Rotate and Translate functions more accurate.
Goal 2: Make the Create react to the rest of the Aruco Markers.

Week # 7 (July 11 - July 15) - Organized By Day

Howdy! This week consisted of solving some of our previous problems, such as localization, box pushing, accuracy on distance, and c++ lessons. We encountered several problems on our code, such as confusion with our variables and functions, however we were able to fix them. We also realized we weren't going to be able to use some of the previous functions and formulas we had planned, such as goToPoint. We look forward to the next week as we will be establishing a new formula for pushing the boxes straight.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Had a group meeting where we discussed objectives and problems we still haven’t solved.
Checked for accuracy on our data and functions.
Worked on adding global x and y to the code.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Attended Mukulikas C++ Lesson.
Finished assigned Vector Iterators assignment.
Attended Motion Planning Meeting.
Measured and determined where the boxes will be assembled.
Set global points to the boxes.
Worked on localizing the robot.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Attended Mukulikas C++ Lesson.
Fixed some of the errors in the code.
Created a name for our project.
Tested global coordinated in robot.

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Attended Mukulikas C++ Lesson.
Finished Vector Palindrome Exercise.
Worked on localizing the robot.
Attempted to add a setOdometry function.
Attempted to fix some of the issues with our code.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Experimented and attempted to fix previous Rotate function.
Created weekly outline.
Met with Saurabh to discuss the current issues of our code.
Created a new method of navigation for the robot, using local points and markers.

Goals for Next Week (July 18 - July 22, 2016):

Goal 1: Have the Create set the boxes in the correct spot.
Goal 2: Make the Create's odometry more accurate.
Goal 3: Find a way to have the Create localize itself better.

Week # 8 (July 18 - July 22) - Organized By Day

Howdy! This week consisted of working on the SquareUp function and developing different methods for doing so, and trying to get our previous functions more accurate. We discussed several ways of aligning the robot to the box and experimented with many of them. We hope to assemble at least one box next week, and make the robots movements more precise.

Monday, July 18, 2016

Experienced issues with some of our ideas, such as SetOdometry, global positioning, and inaccurate measurement of angles.
Discussed methods of pushing the boxes to the right position.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Attended Mukulikas C++ Lesson.
Worked on exercise assigned by Mukulika.
Planned our future steps and analyzed our progress.
Attended Weekly Parasol Lab Meeting, in which we gave a whiteboard talk about our project.
Began to create SquareUp function.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Continued to work on the map exercise.
Continued to work on the SquareUp function.
Continued to work on our boxPushing system.
Checked our accuracy for boxPushing.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Seeked new ways to SquareUp to the box.
Created a new formula to move to the center of the box.
Started developing poster for project.
Discussed and came up with new ideas for our future steps.

Friday, July 22, 2016

Created a new SquareUp method.
Continued working on the poster.
Tested code with different robots to determine hardware deficiencies.
Planned out future steps for next week.

Goals for Next Week (July 25 - July 29, 2016):

Goal 1: Have the Create set the boxes in the correct spot.
Goal 2: Assemble at least one box.

Week # 9 (July 25 - July 29) - Organized By Day

Howdy! This week mainly comprised of doing some major progressions on our poster and method. We began to do trials for data on our poster, and split up into 4 teams for presentation. We also made a new system for our SquareUp function on Week #8 and improved it. Additionally, we received advice for our poster and method from our mentors and advisors, and took action on it. We look forward to our final week as we will be finalizing all of our project and saying our goodbyes.

Monday, July 25, 2016

Saw faults in our new SquareUp method and improved it.
Looked for ideas for our poster.
Created poster basic layout.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Brought our group together for a reviewal of our current progress on our poster.
Tested the SquareUp method from different positions and made arrangements.
Created data and diagrams for poster.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Progressed on the poster and began to create data for our “Results and Method” section.
Came to an agreement for the organization of the poster.
Continued testing our method ( SquareUp )

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Solidified our poster to display at the Motion Planning meeting.
Attended weekly Motion Planning meeting, and received advice from our advisors and mentors.
Improved our poster and split up into teams for presentation.
Created a thread in order to speed up the trial process and ran two Creates at the same time.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Presentation Groups each added to their individual poster.
Did additional runs for data for the poster.
Fixed some of the problems the robot had with SquareUp, such as working under certain positions.
We discovered under certain lighting, the robot has problems detecting the markers.
Continued trials and switched the tolerance for the SquareUp detection.
Attended Marco Morales’ presentation on ITAM’s participation in RoboCup.

Goals for Next Week (August 1 - August 5, 2016):

Goal 1: Dominate the Posters and Posium.
Goal 2: Finalize any changes needed to be done to the poster and to our method.

Week # 10 (August 1 - August 5) - Organized By Day

Howdy! This week was our final week at Texas A&M and Parasol Lab. We finalized our poster, got it printed, finished our final report, practised our presentation, and presented our research on Friday. We also cleaned and packed everything from our apartments. We received many advice on our poster early throughout the week and made the changes necessary. Additionally, we had to run more trials on Monday and Tuesday to see a more obvious pattern in our results. Overall, I really learned a lot from my stay at Parasol Lab and Texas A&M, and I hope to return in the future. Thank you to my mentors, Saurabh, Read, and Irving, and to Dr. Amato for the opportunity.

Monday, August 1, 2016

Ran additional tests for more data needed for results.
Continued finalizing our poster and making changes.
Created graphs to represent our data.
Continued working on final report.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Attended weekly Motion Planning meeting.
Had our poster reviewed in the meeting, in which we received advice for changes.
Continued working on final report.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Got the poster ready for printing.
Finished the final report.
Attended Farewell Lunch.
Practiced our presentation at home.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Practiced our presentation.
Got the poster printed.
Attended Troy's and Chinwe's Graduation Party.
Demonstrated our summer research to Gildardo Sanchez.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Presented our research at the Poster’s and Posium.
Moved out of The Stack.
Said our goodbyes and left back home.

Goals for Next Week (August 8 - August 12, 2016):

Goal 1: Begin studying for ACT.
Goal 2: Finish some college applications.

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