Modern Geekhood

The Phoenix Faces Cardboard Boat Regatta

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on February 20, 2012

in Campus Culture,Modern Geekhood,Student Life

Guest Blogger: Casey Wessel ’15

Guest blogger Carey Wessel and the Masseeh Create Team built The Phoenix.

Guest blogger Casey Wessel and the Maseeh Create Team built The Phoenix.

I wasn’t doing a lot over this IAP. I was taking a five-day, intro to electronics course, and planning on starting a build project with one of my friends. I’m a freshman living in Maseeh Hall, (the old Ashdown building, now turned into undergraduate housing) and I’m course 8 and 6-1, but I love building all kinds of things. I was in my room one night when one of my friends asked me if the Maseeh Create Club was entering Head of the Zesiger.

Head of the Zesiger is a cardboard boat regatta held every year in the Z Center pool. The only allowed materials are corrugated cardboard, paper tape, caulk, and a polyurethane water sealant. The boat must hold three people in a race around the pool.

We worked each night on the boat, reinforcing the insides of the pontoons, designing a structured deck, and putting the whole thing together.

The Phoenix, completed and ready for the Z pool race.

The Phoenix, ready for the Z pool race.

We decided to name the boat The Phoenix because the phoenix has become the unofficial mascot of Maseeh.

On Sunday, afternoon we carried our boat to the Z Center, and we got the first look at our competition. A couple looked decent, but most looked like they would barely float. We thought we had the competition in the bag.

We took our boats into the pool deck. The judges came by to judge our boats for the “Best Design” award. We looked in the stands, and they were filled with Maseeh residents ready to watch our boat.

We placed our boat in the water, and our friends, who we recruited to row the boat, edged their way onto the deck of the boat. All three members of our crew made it on the boat, but the second they paddled away from the pool deck, one of the pontoons snapped. The guys did a great job and kept paddling as long as they could. The boat slowly started falling apart as each piece became water logged. Eventually they were just swimming with the pieces of our boat trying to make it to the finish line. The pool deck was roaring with laughter.

The Phoenix collapsing...

The Phoenix collapsing...

It was heart-wrenching seeing our project go down in the Z Center pool, but we did a great job building it and that’s where the fun was. It turns out we actually won the award for Best Design. Like everyone else, they thought it looked the best, but there was a weak spot in one of the supports that collapsed, and the rest of the boat went with it.

Overall it was a great experience. We learned a lot, had a good laugh, and got a free dinner at the Asgard with the gift card we won.

 

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Spreading Valentine’s Day love, MIT-style

by Jay London on February 14, 2012

in Alumni Life,Arts,Campus Culture,Design,Modern Geekhood

John's "scientific" category winner (Click to send.)

Last week, the MIT Alumni Association asked for your help in creating a MIT-themed Valentine’s Day e-postcard. We designed the card and needed your MIT-inspired copy. Submissions were judged on creativity, originality, humor, and a connection to MIT.

After a week’s worth of entries, ranging from original poetry to mathematical equations, the Academy of Valentine’s Day Arts & Sciences is happy to announce two winners: John Springsteen in the “scientific” category and Brandy in the “romantic” category.

John’s won for his entry, “01000010 01100101 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01110110 01100001 01101100 01100101 01101110 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100101 00100001,” or, translated from binary code, “Be my valentine!”

The code-inspired text topped the list of technical-themed sentiments, which also included:

My x = 16 sin^3 t; y = 13 cos t – 5 cos (2t) – 2 cos (3t) – cos (4t) is yours. [graph translation] – Todd

Brandy's "romantic" category winner (Click to send.)

Brandy’s entry, “You’ve got root access to my heart,” got the nod from the Alumni Association cupids for its touch of romanticism.  Other nerd-quixotic entries included:

I am, I am, I am, I am, I am an engineer
When you and I superimpose, we really interfere
No physicist, a bond like ours, could ever try define
So two weeks after IAP, please be my valentine?
- Murthy

I went to MIT and earned a degree,
I am glad that I met you in 18.03,
but even with all my HASS D,
I am still no good at writing poems.
- John

Will you be my Valentine
At 2.14159?
- George

The winning cards are permanently located in the ePostcards section of the Alumni Association site. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, these cards can be sent to that special Engineer (or non-Engineer) in your life. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Hack the Tubes, Class of ’16!

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on February 10, 2012

in Hacks,Modern Geekhood,Student Life

The 91,000 foot view.

View from the top.

A Youtube video that shows an MIT acceptance letter tube orbiting Earth in near space, dangling from a high-altitude balloon, has gone viral. That’s Erin King’s response to the Admissions Office challenge:

“2012 is the anniversary of an old MIT balloon hack, so we put a letter in all of the Early Action admit tubes telling them we wanted them to hack the tubes somehow, and set up http://hackthetubes.mitadmissions.org to collect responses,” says Chris Peterson, Admissions office counselor, as reported on BoingBoing. “Lots of them are great, but this one, from Erin King (MIT ’16) in Georgia, is the best.”

Erin King after a successful launch and recovery.

Erin King after a successful tube recovery.

Thanks to some help from her father and the Columbus, GA, amateur radio club, she sent her tube on a two-hour adventure that reach 91,000 feet and landed in a nearby pine tree. King used GPS-equipped ham radio transmitters with two call signs (hers and her dad’s) to track the position from the ground and captured the whole thing on HD video. Watch the video and get the technical details.

Enjoy the other creative takes on tube hacking:

  • Embalming the Tube—one of two hacks submitted by Miranda from Indiana involves ancient rituals with an Egyptian flavor. [video]
  • Sabrina turned it into a musical instrument. [video]
  • Xavier in Texas offered a photo of what came in his tube, a play on Harry Potter-esque interior spaces.
  • Stilt shoes from Catherine in Chicago, made she says, from “90 percent tape and 10 percent hope.” [video]

 

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Folding Car to Transform Urban Driving…and Make Parallel Parking Obsolete

by Jay London on February 8, 2012

in Alumni Life,Design,Economics,Energy,Engineering,In the News,Modern Geekhood,Research,Transportation

Looking for a parking space in a major city can make public transportation very appealing. The biggest urban driving hassles usually come not with driving itself, but with the stopping, turning, parallel parking, and the can-I-fit-in-this-space challenges that arise when you’ve reached your destination.

Enter the Hiriko (the Basque word for “urban”), a new compact vehicle designed by the MIT Media Lab whose first fleet of 20 vehicles will debut in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain, in 2013.

From the New York Times:

The pod-like electric vehicle, whose battery pack would be leased, is a two-seater with 4-wheel drive and a range in excess of 100 kilometers, or about 60 miles. Because its wheelbase can collapse, a single parking space can accommodate three vehicles. Driver and passenger enter through a windshield that swings upward.

Instead of a single electric engine, each wheel has an independent dedicated engine, which allows for an amazing degree in control in suspension, steering, and turning. Smaller than a Smart Car, the Hiriko spins and rotates on its axis, a technique that MIT researchers call an “O-turn.” It also moves sideways, making parallel parking obsolete.

Professor Kent Larson leads the car’s Media Lab researcher team. A production model was unveiled before the European Union Commission in Brussels last week. In addition to Spain, future trials are planned in Boston, San Francisco, Berlin, Hong Kong, and Malmo, Sweden. Similar to ZipCar in the United States, the cars will be shared by users who will have access for a few hours at a time. Cars may be sold to individuals in the future, with cost estimates currently ranging around $16,000.

In addition to the Hiriko, a Media Lab team led by doctoral candidates Ryan Chin and William Lark has also created a three-wheel electric vehicle prototype that can function as a bicycle and meets all European bike-lane regulations.

For more information and video on Hiriko (formerly the MIT CityCar), visit the “Changing Places” section on the Media Lab site.

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Contest: Help Create an MIT-Inspired Valentine!

by Jay London on February 6, 2012

in Alumni Life,Campus Culture,Design,Events,Modern Geekhood

The MIT Alumni Association is creating a MIT Valentine’s Day postcard and we need your help. We’ve designed the card, and we want you to provide the MIT-inspired copy. (Geeks can be quixotic, too.)

Once the submissions are collected, the Alumni Association, in conjunction with the Academy of Valentine’s Day Arts & Sciences, will review and debate then announce a winner on Monday, February 13.

The winning words will be added to our valentine, which will be permanently located in the ePostcards section of the Alumni Association site. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the card will be available to send to—and warm the heart of—that special Engineer (or non-Engineer) in your life.

This contest is open to all members of the MIT community. The rules are simple: Keep it clean, keep it 200 characters or less, and keep it MIT-inspired.

Original poetry, geeky pickup lines, or even a simple word or two are fair game. Submissions will be judged on creativity, originality, humor, and their connection to MIT. Being romantic never hurts either!

Here’s how it works:

  1. Submit your MIT-inspired copy in the comments section of this post or on the Alumni Association Facebook page.
  2. The deadline to submit is Sunday, February 12.
  3. The Academy of Valentine’s Day Arts & Sciences, in conjunction with Alumni Association cupids, will review the submissions and determine a winner, who will be credited on the ePostcard page.
  4. Visit the Association Facebook page on Monday afternoon, February 13, to view the winner and send out the postcard.

Get romantic, get creative, and get to work!

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Apps for Academics

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on February 3, 2012

in Campus Culture,Modern Geekhood

Presentation apps range from Keynote Remote to SyncPad.

Presentation apps range from Keynote Remote (control slide presentations) to SyncPad (create a shared whiteboard).

The MIT Libraries, contemporary arbiters of the information tsunami, are offering tips on useful apps for smartphones and devices. These suggestions are not just for faculty, of course. Any knowledge-working, game-playing, device-loving user of phones, tablets, and more can benefit from the info offered via Apps for Academics. And many apps are free.

Highlights:

Productivity

  • DropBox: sync files online and across computers
  • LogMein Ignition: remotely access your computer from anywhere

Reading

  • Instapaper: read saved web pages on the go
  • Papers: organize, notate, and share articles and PDFs

Taking Notes

  • Evernote: input text, photos, video
  • JotNot Scanner: converts your iPhone camera into a portable multi-page scanner

Other gems: SkyFire: allows Flash viewing on iPhones; TuneIn Radio: hear 40,000 radio stations on your Apple devices; WolframAlpha: quick search for scientific data and diagrams.

Check out all of the MIT Libraries guides for quick links to exciting and useful information;  some are reserved for the MIT community but many are public.

 

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DIY IAP: MIT Gaming from the Inside Out

by Nancy DuVergne Smith on January 24, 2012

in Learning,Media,Modern Geekhood

Games are more than fun at MIT. One place to get a bead on the action is the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, a five-year collaboration between MIT and the government of Singapore that is exploring gaming as an academic and commercial medium. A video featuring Philip Tan ’01, SM ’03, the U.S. executive director, describes the lab’s mission.

GAMBIT develops and studies games.

GAMBIT develops and studies games.

One product is a stream of games that you can download and play for free. Play a Gambit game—there are four featured games for download and 30 more prototypes to toy with.

Another result is understanding what is intriguing about games. Watch a recent video titled Marc LeBlanc’s eight kinds of fun to learn about psychology of gaming.

During IAP, GAMBIT held a session to introduce this year’s MIT Mystery Hunt, an annual puzzle competition, and hosted a night of problem solving. Relive the 2012 Mystery Hunt—and see the problems and the solutions.

The Mystery Hunt, an annual IAP event, draws solvers of all stripes

The Mystery Hunt, an annual IAP event, draws solvers of all stripes. Photo: John A. Hawkinson—The Tech

The GAMBIT website is a cornucopia of game riches:

Listen to a podcast with Terri Brosius and Dan Thron, members of the highly influential Looking Glass Studios, pioneers of 3D first-person narrative game design.

Watch the GAMBIT Summer Summit 2011 closing keynote by Jeff Orkin of the MIT Media Lab and Cognitive Machines titled “Next Generation A.I. & Gameplay: Big Data, Big Opportunities.”

Find out how to take part in the annual Summer Game Development Program For Undergraduates.

Beginning February 20, a new video exploring the origins and processes of developing each project will be posted on Mondays. Watch the trailer.

More about Games at MIT

  • MIT is betting that games will be a key learning tool in the future. A new $3 million grant will support the MIT Education Arcade‘s development of a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) to help high school students learn math and biology.
  • Learn how to play the Mercury Game, a negotiation simulation that is designed to teach people about the role of science in international environmental policy making
  • Test your invention IQ with the Lemelson-MIT Program’s interactive Brain Drain game and other games.
  • The Tech reviews The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, released in December.
  • Read earlier Slice posts on Flu Math Games and other Video Learning and Play Platform Wars, a Sloan simulation.

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DIY-IAP: Watch a Robotics Tournament…in Space

by Jay London on January 23, 2012

in Campus Culture,Design,Events,IAP,In the News,Modern Geekhood,Research,Science,Space

If you’re feeling spaced out this morning, you’re not alone. Teams of high school students are at MIT today for the finale of the third annual Zero Robotics SPHERES Challenge, a worldwide competition where students program satellites to complete tasks onboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics has joined with NASA, Aurora Flight Sciences, TopCoder, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in sponsoring the competition. The finale takes place today at MIT from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Watch it live on NASA TV or the Zero Robotics site.

In the competition, NASA will upload software developed by the high school students onto SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites), basketball-sized satellites created at MIT, aboard the ISS. Students wrote algorithms for the SPHERES satellites, giving them the opportunity the opportunity to act as simulated ground controllers for space research.

The tournament began in September with over 2,000 students from 147 teams creating algorithms and devising codes. The top 27 teams will have their code sent to the space station where, during today’s competition, astronauts in microgravity will command the satellites to execute the teams’ flight programs. The team with the highest software performance over several rounds of the competition wins the challenge.

SPHERES satellites were developed at MIT in 1999 and first used aboard the ISS in 2006. In addition to the competition, the satellites are used inside the space station to conduct formation flight maneuvers for spacecraft guidance navigation, control, and docking, and they can test a wide range of hardware and software at an affordable cost.

David W. Miller, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, and research scientist Alvar Saenz-Otero PhD ’05 serve as principal investigator and co-investigator, respectively, of the challenge.

For more information on SPHERES, watch a 2009 video where the MIT SPHERES Team held a test session with astronauts Michael Barratt and Timothy Kopra aboard the International Space Station set to the score from “An der schönen blauen Donau” (On The Beautiful Blue Danube) by Johann Strauss II.

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DIY IAP: Build an Electric Unicycle (Or Just Watch the Video)!

by Jay London on January 11, 2012

in Design,Engineering,IAP,In the News,Modern Geekhood,Research,Student Life,Transportation

Photo Credit: Stephan Boyer, Double Dispatch blog

Recent data shows that thousands of commuters in Boston-Cambridge area ride their bicycle to work, with ridership more the doubling since 2007. But unicycle ridership? Not current data exists.

Meet Stephan Boyer, a third-year student in the School of Engineering who has created The Bullet, a sort of unicycle-meets-Segway device that can hit 15 miles per hour and can travel for five miles on a single charge.

The Bullet, an electric unicycle with a safety kill switch, does some self-balancing, with components that help prevent the device from falling forward or backward (good luck if you’re falling left or right!). Boyer uses the Bullet to travel around campus, even relying on semantics to travel inside.

Boyer writes on his Double Dispatch blog:

“Bullet is the primary way I navigate MIT and the surrounding Cambridge area. I often zoom past students, faculty, custodians, and tourists, with generally positive reactions from everyone. I’ve been told one can be fined for riding a scooter in the Infinite Corridor. Fortunately, Bullet ain’t no scooter.”

Boyer currently has no plan to market the Bullet for commercial use, but estimates the device cost only a few hundred dollars to build. Boyer (and Slice) urges caution to any burgeoning uni-enthusiasts and likens navigating the Bullet to learning to ride a bike with no hands.

“Unfortunately, one cannot simply pick up a self-balancing unicycle and ride it with ease. It took me several hours to be able to ride in a straight line without crashing, and it took several days to learn how to turn in a controlled manner. Many of my friends have tried riding it, usually with little success (including some actual unicyclers).”

For more information on how the Bullet was assembled, including its kit list and software, and some helpful riding tips, visit Boyer’s Double Dispatch blog entry.

Editor’s note: In honor of MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January, Slice is focusing on activities you can do yourself and on the experiences of students serving this month as externs with alumni in their workplaces. Stay tuned!

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DIY-IAP: Support a Superhero

by Amy Marcott on January 9, 2012

in Alumni Life,Modern Geekhood

MIT-Cornell Fictional Alumni Face-Off--Charles Foster Kane vs. Sue StormHaving fun is an important part of Independent Activities Period, and this week the MIT-Cornell Fictional Alumni Face-Off returns for the last quarterfinal match-up. MIT’s Sue Storm (a.k.a. the Invisible Woman) is squaring off against Charles Foster Kane.

In case you haven’t been following the action, the Fictional Alumni Face-Off is a friendly, spirited competition pitting fake MIT alumni with fabled Cornellians. Community members vote for the winner of the match-up by answering a question on the website, Facebook, or Twitter using the hashtag #MITCU. MIT has managed to secure two semifinal positions and looks to make it three in a row.

Vote for Sue Storm by providing a clever reason why she would make a better housemate than Kane. This week will be tougher than it seems. Sure Citizen Kane is a crotchety recluse, but one could argue that having an invisible roommate could be disconcerting. Let’s defeat that argument from the outset.

Next week begins the semifinals. Stay tuned for new voting parameters. And check out the full brackets below.

MIT-Cornell Fictional Alumni Face-Off brackets

Click to enlarge

 

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