12
Physical Computing Lab Internship Summer 2018 A NDREW J ORDAN / J AYSUN B ALAKRISHNAN Library 2708 1. Overview The Physical Computing Lab is a makerspace and technology space that provides access to several types of equipment for students and faculty of Evergreen. This includes 3D printers, Arduino kits, Raspberry Pis, and a sandboxed networking lab. Our responsibilities included; monitoring and maintaining this space, as well as providing guidance, training, and documentation to users of the lab. We worked directly with faculty, students and Academic Technologies staff to implement and maintain physical computing resources in direct support of the Computer Science curriculum. 2. Summer 2018 Recap We joined the project in the planning phase of the PCC. We developed style and brand guidelines and made promotional mockups and animations in after effects. This helped our group define the objectives and holistic goals for center. We learned about interior design, color matching, furniture layout and administrative space use guidelines. This afforded us many opportunities to navigate the executive channels required to access various campus resources. We learned all about work orders, budgets, and the space and land use group or SLUG. We established relationships with several PCC Brand Concept Art by Michelle Bergin

Physical Computing Lab Internship

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    8

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Physical Computing Lab Internship

Physical Computing Lab Internship

Summer 2018

ANDREW JORDAN / JAYSUN BALAKRISHNAN

Library 2708

1. Overview

The Physical Computing Lab is a makerspace and technology space that provides access to several types of equipment for students and faculty of Evergreen. This includes 3D printers, Arduino kits, Raspberry Pis, and a sandboxed networking lab.

Our responsibilities included; monitoring and maintaining this space, as well as providing guidance, training, and documentation to users of the lab. We worked directly with faculty, students and Academic Technologies staff to implement and maintain physical computing resources in direct support of the Computer Science curriculum.

2. Summer 2018 Recap

We joined the project in the planning phase of the PCC. We developed style and brand guidelines and made promotional mockups and animations in after effects. This helped our group define the objectives and holistic goals for center. We learned about interior design, color matching, furniture layout and administrative space use guidelines. This afforded us many opportunities to navigate the executive channels required to access various campus resources.

We learned all about work orders, budgets, and the space and land use group or SLUG. We established relationships with several

PCC Brand Concept Art by Michelle Bergin

Page 2: Physical Computing Lab Internship

administrative departments including media loan, admissions, advancement and the president’s office. Many of these outreach missions will continue into the Fall. There are current plans for the Physical

Computing Center to be showcased during the return to evergreen event; early October ’18. The PCC will also host and support interdisciplinary research and student entrepreneurship projects into the 2018-2019 academic year. We have provided services and consultation to multiple Evergreen SURF groups in biology, physics, and fresh water ecology. We plan to continue to provide such support in the 2018-2019 school year while building relationships with other departments.

3. Agile // Collaboration // Lessons Learned

This project gave us valuable experience with Redmine on a team based agile workflow. Working with a group on a project like this was a unique opportunity not afforded to all students. We learned how to navigate the needs of a team, and how to define our roles within the roles of others. This system kept us accountable and swift. Having all of our work tracked on the project page was paramount for team transparency and responsibility segmentation. The experience gained from the project management skills alone was one of the most enlightening and valuable take always from this internship. The mentorship in product development workflow gave us unparalleled insight into the challenges faced and overcome in today’s tech workspaces.

A Peek at our Agile Tracker

Kreisel Spray Bar Design for Erik Thuesen's SURF Group

Page 3: Physical Computing Lab Internship

One of the most important lessons learned was about sustainability and self-reliance. Anything that required outside labor or approval took longer than we wanted it to. As much as purpose built furniture should fit the space, we should also consider its mobility. The real revelation here is that things like: furniture, AV, network access, resource availability, temperature control, access control, medical supplies, disability access, lighting, and power are often taken for granted or overlooked.These were all obstacles we encountered during the initial deployment of the PCC.

Furniture – We had the most difficulty with our vendor for the tables. This set us back a few weeks and kept a lot of projects in limbo. Every other piece of furniture in the space was provided by/assembled internally, within a timely fashion. I think the big take away from this experience is to be wary of equipment your staff can’t deploy. Relying on external labor sources can cause pain points in a production workflow. The lockers, chairs, and anthro carts were a great success and aptly installed. We still seem deadlocked on workbenches and a few other layout items for the space. If we were able to appoint somebody into a design and layout leadership role that might expedite our furniture selection. Are there interior design majors/interns we could ask for consultations?

AV/Network Access – This was a huge learning experience for everyone involved. The planning group was inspired by mobile workspaces. All the desks have wheels, and the goal was to make the workstations, and workspaces highly configurable. After being directed to spec out wifi cards for the client computers, we settled on the Netis WF2117 PCI cards. The price point and the compatibility with Ubuntu were the determining factors in this decision. We installed the cards into the clients, and tested them for software deployment with PDQ Deploy. We discovered intermittent connection issues and bandwidth inconsistency once all the clients were powered on. This may have been due to dust in the PCI slots. After dusting the computers (they really needed it) we found the connection issues less persistent but still below acceptable levels. Without physical or admin rights to the evergreen wireless access point, our diagnostic capabilities are limited. We would recommend on future projects, to

consult network services early into the planning phase. A strong networking domain will be covered in the course of this internship. We spent a lot of time with Nmap finding raspberry pi’s, diagnosing connectivity, and mapping our hosts.

Our Desks Have Wheels

Netis WF2117 PCI Card

Page 4: Physical Computing Lab Internship

Without a reliable wireless option, we were required to run the entire lab on Ethernet. This provided the greatest level of network access and reliability to the students. Once the Ethernet network was deployed, we were able to push the standard software to the clients and ensure versions were up to date. The wireless diagnostics, hardware installs, ethernet deployment, and software package deployment provided a valuable learning experience for our internship. Our current set up has the classroom on two separate subnets depending on which switch they are plugged into. This provides an excellent opportunity to find a more permanent solution for our networking and AV utilization goals while things are still moving around.

We are still working on the AV system. Lecture capture recording was a mixed success. We found a way to send video across the network with UDP broadcast streams. This afforded us the ability to record the Physical Computing and Robotics final projects this summer. Using Open Broadcaster Software, a 5$ Sony PlayStation eye camera, and a borrowed

Networking Map of the PCC

Student Demonstrates Final Project Summer 2018

Sony Eye Capture Camera

Page 5: Physical Computing Lab Internship

microphone from media loan; we were able to record lectures and presentations. We have plans to upgrade this technology in the following year and add live streaming functionality. Currently, anyone who uses the space can request an audio-visual recording of their work at no charge. We found this to be a valuable service for the staff and students in the PCC. Recording and personal review of public speaking performance has given the students instant feedback on their presentation skills and reportedly improved public speaking confidence.

You can learn more about UDP streams and the OBS project here - https://obsproject.com/

Resource Availability// Octoprint Servers – We experienced high levels of resource availability during the summer quarter. This is due to the dedication of our staff and volunteers along with the addition of our new Lulzbot TAZ 6. Students from the class and community pitched in to help maintain the printers/lab equipment and openly shared information about the state of the art. There was a resounding sense of community felt from the students and workgroup. This was shown through the de-facto organization of the space, its general cleanliness and constructive use of our Octoprint servers.

Combining open source hardware (raspberry pi) and open source software (Octoprint) we were able to augment the 3D printers’ networking capabilities. We learned that hardware less robust than that of the raspberry pi 3’s suffered from resource integrity loss during times of high utilization. After upgrading to Raspberry pi 3s, we saw less resource issues, were able to add cameras, custom printed mounts, and the ability for students to remotely monitor video feeds of their prints. With plugins, we were able to capture time lapses of the longer print jobs and gathered valuable data from the summer session. This printer data has allowed us to set performance benchmarks and will guide the development of future space use guidelines.

Lulzbot with RPI Server and Camera Mount

Page 6: Physical Computing Lab Internship

Experience Design/Environmental Controls

We spent a considerable amount of time working on the experience design and environment layout of the Physical Computing Center. We wanted to differentiate the space from other academic areas on campus. The PCC is a fully functional classroom with augmented tech and layout to facilitate unique project goals. In its infancy; the PCC served as somewhat of a blank canvas for students to fill with homegrown tech and art projects.

As interns, we created a projection mapping and video screen installations. This is visible from outside the space and serves as one attraction that brings people down the hallway and into the door (see map below). The system we designed is fully customizable and can be controlled remotely from the network (see above diagram) We are currently running custom promotional material created with guidance from the branding and marketing department. All of our custom animations generated at the PCC are licensed Creative Commons 0 (Public Domain) and therefore available for free use by any department anywhere, anytime.

Being computer scientists; we are currently developing a system that can automatically generate animated/branded content for the school. The current system can monitor the door, read schedules, online forums, internal emails, and rss feeds among an array of other inputs. It will then generate up-to-date branded animations for our display TV and projection wall. We hope to deploy this by early winter 2018. This deployment will rely on new user insight and integration capabilities with our recently implemented Schedule Evergreen app. These systems will augment the access control and space availability for students by providing real time information about the PCC’s utilization. This content can be available on both the local network (green screens and campus CCTV) as well as the world wide web.

A DEMO REEL OF THE EARLY CUSTOM ANIMATION CONCEPTS IS AVAILABLE HERE - https://youtu.be/rAw9qrP52Dg

Screenshot of one animation created for the PCC

Projection Mapping and Welcome Screen @ PCC

Page 7: Physical Computing Lab Internship

4. We supported student projects improving and augmenting user experience design in the PCC

Automated Plants – We have been reading some interesting research papers on the correlation between the presence of plants and reported stress levels. Most of the research we are looking at is related to computer tasks and the effects of plants on productivity and concentration. It is clear that many research organizations have discovered a relationship between natural environments / plants / vegetation and work efficiency. One of the major pain points in bringing plants and vegetation into a workspace is the associated costs of maintenance and care.

During the summer robotics class, two intrepid students developed an automated plant monitoring and care system. The group had an interdisciplinary background in biology and chemistry. With this domain knowledge, they chose appropriate plants for the environment. They designed climate control and monitoring systems for water level, quality, and plant health. With the resources provided in the center, they were able to construct a robust system for automating almost all of the tasks related to plant care. With a constant supply of fresh water, this system would be completely automatic. We are working with building services and academic technologies to implement a more permanent installation of these plants and student originated systems.

We obtained behavioral research from National Library of Medicine - https://www.nlm.nih.gov/

Automatic Gardener Prototype

Page 8: Physical Computing Lab Internship

Kindle the Flame of Knowledge – Students and Staff have donated books and materials to be available in the PCC. This has resulted in a sizeable collection of curated computer science manuals, science fiction novels, educational comics, and student generated works being available to read or borrow In the Physical Computing Center at Evergreen. We accepted book donations and have set up channels to pass along any extra books or duplicates over to the prison sustainability project. In response to cultural demands, we have a curated collection of non-binary and female scientific authors as well as a growing collection of works by current and past evergreen students. There are plans to generate a zine or some type of publication to promote the ideology of the Physical Computing Center and the advancement of universal scientific inquiry.

A graduating senior volunteered her time and expertise to bring a little light to our bookcase. She brought in some LED strips, a drill, some soldering skills and her knowledge of code in order to light up our little collection of books. Currently, we have a pleasant crackling fireplace effect that backlights the shelves. We hope to augment it with a proximity sensor that will illuminate the front of the titles whenever a person comes near. (Student project in the fall?) The project is fully programmable from one of the client computers and serves as a great teaching tool for introducing students to the possibilities of LED programming with Arduino.

Physical Security Research/ Military Civilian Partnerships - It is a well-known fact the majority of Evergreen graduates are either going into or transitioning out of public service roles. The Gnu-E-Ducks security research team on campus has alumni currently performing cyber and physical security duties in the public and private sectors both at home and abroad. In 2018, we graduated computer science students that will go on to exciting careers in national defense and counter-terrorism operations. (DIA, Raytheon, L-3,SAIC) The skills and philosophies they developed here at Evergreen will go on to serve our nation, as well as the interests of the greater good across the globe. Students at Evergreen have encouraged us to maintain tools and literature that support such security research. Hence, our bookshelf contains selections from required readings at DARPA and the CIA Directorate of Operations. Due to the current political climate, we consider selections such as, the Mitrokhin Archive, The Haunted Wood, Wilderness of Mirrors and Fair Play required reading for anyone considering an active intelligence career. We also encourage our students to research cases like Aldrich Ames, Robert Hansen or the Illegals Program. We encourage the study neighboring CSIS, CISEN, and SEIDO organizations as well as a depth of knowledge about the global intelligence community.

Arduino Bookcase Project at Evergreen

Evergreen, BYU and Highline Students working with 56th Theater Operations Group at ICCDI Summer 2018

Page 9: Physical Computing Lab Internship

There are some schools who have provided guidance and curriculum to support the mission of the Physical Computing Center. They would include software from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California as well cyber security resources from The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M. The 56th Theater Information Operations Group, Joint Force Headquarters, 181st Brigade Support Battalion, and 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Joint Base Lewis McChord have provided us with mentorship and training opportunities in both physical and cyber security operations. The Physical Computing Center also serves Evergreen’s veteran population. Many of these programs help transition valuable skills gained in military service into lifelong civilian careers. Using the PCC as a base of operations; the Evergreen students and GNU-E-Ducks club have created some bountiful partnerships, made meaningful contributions into the world of national defense, and expanded global cyber security frontiers.

Learn More about ICCDI here - https://iccdi.org/about/

Wifi Hactive Portal – Want to increase visibility and awareness at network security conferences while expanding the horizons of what could actually be considered a game? Interns in the Physical Computing Center have developed and gamified a mobile training solution you can take on the go! It is essentially a small computer that fits into a backpack and is operated by a battery pack most people would use to charge their phones.(Raspberry Pi) Looks inconspicuous, yet it can perform a multitude of network monitoring and security testing operations. Not unlike the products and tools deployed in MANET networks by military and law enforcement, our students have designed a backpack with the same capabilities. It’s also worth adding that our unit is well below the price point currently charged at Harris electronics. The real kicker here, is that they are using this potentially weaponized tech…to play video games. Currently the system deploys a PHP/JavaScript recreation of a hacking mini game from a popular AAA title. If the user can pass the first test, they are dropped into hackevergreen’s custom training environment. (A video game/website initially developed by alumni that teaches computer security skills, gives you challenges to solve, and tracks your progress on scoreboard) This summer, it was all downsized and put into a backpack for stealth deployment at conferences using the resources in the PCC

What the user sees when they connect our training network

Page 10: Physical Computing Lab Internship

Check out the challenges here - http://ctf.hackevergreen.org/

Self Hosting // Data Sustainability – We all love sites like Google and Facebook. They provide amazing services that we have all grown to love, and need in our day to day lives, for free! The real catch here is they also own rights to everything you put online, its subjective use, data integrity, and availability. Current consumer sentiment towards cloud-based infrastructure has given rise to self-hosted services. This summer; students in the PCC launched a few self-hosted projects. Along with self-hosting our inventory system and asset tracker (snipeitapp.com), we were able to provide a fledgling infrastructure for students and staff to host their own projects on the evergreen network. This included: a democratization network for Student Activities and Student Body Government meetings (loomio.org), a testbed for edurange.org (NSF funded Evergreen cybersecurity project) as well as various apps, bots and social networking utilities written by the interns and students. (Gnu-e-Bot, The ducks of #tesc)

5. Conclusion // Summation

The following paragraphs were generated collectively by the Staff and Faculty to summarize the PCC for outreach purposes.

The Physical Computing Center became a place for students to learn and work together on computer-related technology in an interdisciplinary environment. One of our goals was to foster entrepreneurship in computer science and engineering. We partnered with the Career development center to provide personalized career and entrepreneur advice to the students in the physical computing class. The PCC is staffed by undergraduate interns, who help students gain proficiency with equipment and answer questions. The experience students gain in the PCC supplements all 6 of the expectations of an Evergreen graduate set fourth in our college’s social contract. [https://www.evergreen.edu/about/expectations] Should we add more here where the PCC may cover all 6?. Combining theory and practice; the PCC provides hands-on experiences which contribute to student confidence, success, and depth of learning.

Page 11: Physical Computing Lab Internship

The following goal was used for guidance in the agile development platform.

The goal is to create a permanent, visible space dedicated to the work of Computer Science. Using donated equipment from Network Services, available unassigned desktops, robotics, arduinos and other existing equipment scattered across the college currently, create a centralized space as the home to Computer Science students that was connected to or adjacent to existing managed space in the Library. This would provide greater opportunity for students in the internship and research positions as well as students in general CS programs. Having a physical dedicated space would also serve as a recruitment tool for both prospective students as well as prospective faculty.

The following is a Poster Designed By the Students and Staff of the PCC

(Example of our Branding)

Page 12: Physical Computing Lab Internship

Location of the Physical Computing Center

Library Room 2708

We would like to thank the Students, Faculty, Administration, and Staff that supported this project from its inception to present day.

Project Managers: Amy Greene, Peter Lynn, Rip Heminway

Project Team: Aaron Kruse, Andrew Jordan, Ashley Marie, Jaysun Balakrishnan, Michelle Bergin, Richard Weiss, Lee Lyttle, Arlen Speights.

Our 3D Printed Mascot (Gnu-e-Bot)