UE – Caloocan Computer Engineering Title Defense S.Y. 2017 – 2018

Being invited to be a panelist at any kind of defense is one of life’s sweetest treats. Pakiramdam ko para akong si kamatayan na gigilitan nalang yung mga nag dedefense sa harapan ko. This is the 3rd time I was invited in UE – Caloocan. Yung unang panel ko sa kanila is isang semester palang yung Thesis, so kung ano man ang ilatag sa harapan ko, yun na yun. I’ll just check the testing results with the scopes and limitations. Yung next na invite sakin is hindi pa ako ganung ka talas when it comes to judging the quality of the thesis. Now on my 3rd time palagay ko may hustisya naman.

Yung 2nd and 3rd time ko, hati na sa dalawa yung thesis subject nila. Thesis 1 which is the chapters 1-3 (Methods of Research) then yung Thesis 2 which is the implementation na nung project. So dito sa title defense, may palag pa sa scope and limitations. Wala pang masyadong effort na ibinubuhos sa pag gawa nung project kaya pwede pang i-istretch yung scope, at iistrike down yung limitation. But there are some select people na talaga namang maganda ang pagkakapili ng  topic and technologies na gagamitin kaya mejo na iimune doon sa pag stretch ng scope.

By my standards, the bare minimum of a Computer Engineering(CpE) Thesis should have elements of CpE’s fields of specialization:

• Microelectronics
• Embedded Systems
• Software Development
• System and Network Administration

Sa tagalog, dapat merong hardware(nakakagawa dapat sila ng sarili nilang circuit or atleast nakakapag combine sila ng shields/modules), dapat merong microcontroller (nakapag program dapat sila ng low level language), dapat merong software(nakapag program dapat sila ng high level programming) na nag i-interface sa database (nakapag persist dapat sila ng data), at dapat lahat ng iyan ay connected sa isa’t isa (Wifi, Bluetooth, or wired connection). Bahala na sila kung anong klaseng technology ang gusto nilang gamitin at kung ano ang purpose ng project nila basta dapat ma-meet yan.

After that the last key ingredient could either be feasibility, innovation, or community impact. At least isa sa tatlong yan. It’s either yang ginagawa mo is mas murang alternative sa existing solution or yang ginagawa mo is gumagamit ng masmakabagong technology compared sa existing solution, or sinusulusyonan mo ang isang problema na nakita mo sa local community mo.

Here are the titles na ni-defense nila for this school year:

1. Piezoelectric Staircase to produce Renewable Energy with SMS Monitoring System.
2. Wireless Sign Language Translator.
3. Bombastic Water Pump: An Automated Flood Control and Proactive Monitoring System in Navotas City.
4. A Microcontroller Based Portable Forecasting Device and Tide Detection System in Baranggay Laiya San Juan Batangas.
5. Smart Gardening Watering and Monitoring System with Solar-Powered Lighting.

The proponents of the Wireless Sign Language Translator.

My personal favorite is #2, one of the proponents is a volunteer sign language interpreter in their church. They got someone close to the role of a ‘Domain Expert’. The only thing I find unpleasant in this group is that they preferred to use Microsoft Access as their database. They should’ve chosen something else like SQL Server or SQLite so that when the put this project on their resume they’ll be more marketable. We don’t really know yet if they’re gonna aim for word by word translation or letter by letter translation. the panelists simply assumed that they’ll go for word by word and end up (at least) in letter by letter translation. I’ve heard they’ll be using American standard of translation. I just forgot the exact term they used to describe that.

They could further improve this project by trying out Microsoft Text Translator APIs. The API cannot translate sign language but they can translate English to any other languages. There is also a Microsoft Speech Translator API. However, these things requires internet connection. Their current project does not depend on the internet. I would strongly suggest that they steer clear of the letter by letter translation since there already exist a Keyglove, their project sounds like a good contribution to this open source project though.

The proponents of Bombastic Water Pump: An Automated Flood Control and Proactive Monitoring System in Navotas City

Running up would be #3, Their project has the potential to be a government project. for some odd reason, there are too many of them in a single group. so I’ve requested a Cost Benefit Analysis of their project as an addition to their documentation. This should help them in bidding if they ever chose to participate.

The proponents of A Microcontroller Based Portable Forecasting Device and Tide Detection System in Baranggay Laiya San Juan Batangas

My least favorite will be #4. They are proposing some kind of a portable weather station. by the time that they gathered data they’ll connect it to a computer on HQ and use some kind of a forecasting model to predict the weather. And no, predicting the weather does not mean comparing with the actual weather. “Predicting the weather” means comparing their sensor’s value to the city/province average as provided by online websites. Their methods feels like those you encounter on a typical physics laboratory experiment.

Now why am I ranting about this. Basically X things:

1. I’ve already encountered a project similar to them (a box of data-gathering sensors that can be moved anywhere).
2. Their brand of forecasting doesn’t sound right.
3. One of their limitation is that there won’t be any web-based interface or connection or some sort.
4. This project has a lot of potential since it’s about data gathering and forecasting.

First of all, one of my friend submitted a thesis of similar device. but instead of weather related data gathering they are more focused on Air Quality. So their sensors are Gas Sensors + Temperature + Humidity + GPS and a Wifi Module so that their Device can throw the gathered data to the cloud, and from the cloud-based database, a they created a web interface featuring a Map Visualization of the gathered data. What #4 is offering is a device with Temperature + Humidity + Rain/Flow + Light Sensors… and that’s it! no GPS, no Wifi. They’ll just gather data and store it in the microcontroller until they reach the HQ where they could dump the data to their forecasting model.

2nd is that I don’t even know where they got enough data to do their own forecast! When we talk of forecasting, it means that you have gathered lots and lots and lots of data, and use those loads of data along with the present values to predict future values. In the context of weather, even if we are to assume that they can finish the project at this instant, data worth less than a year is not enough to do forecasting since there is seasonality in weather. What are they gonna do, get the provincial/city historical data and use it along with the present values?

3rd is that they used “Bad internet coverage” to justify the “no web interface” limitation. While everyone wants a piece of cloud, these guys decided to continue on the ground. But I can’t do anything about it because what they have stated might be true. Here in the Philippines internet connection is one of people’ greatest frustration.

Finally, what can they do to improve their thesis/project? What is the hidden potential in their project? One would be throwing out the limitation of internet connection, they’ll just have to find ways to connect one way or another. The connection does not need to be real time. They just need a way to throw the data to the cloud, and from the cloud they can use different stuff like Azure Machine Learning to do their weather forecast and Power BI Map Visualization. Their project is a potential use case for the Internet of Things, but it was dumbed-down by removing the ‘Internet’ from ‘Things’ hahaha! However, even with the power of cloud, they still don’t have a way to do decent forecasting since the time to gather the local weather data is not enough. Maybe if they will refine their title to predicting temperatures and humidity.

The proponents of Piezoelectric Staircase to produce Renewable Energy with SMS Monitoring System

Smart Gardening Watering and Monitoring System with Solar-Powered Lighting

I have neutral opinions on the other two. The renewable energy staircase has to demonstrate that they can achieve break-even power generation with their project (they have a microcontroller + GSM Module Load on top of what ever they want to power up). The other one about gardening sounded weird. I don’t really appreciate the benefit of automating your garden or detecting the soil nutrient from a flower pot. The only exception is when you are growing something expensive and delicate like Saffron or something. I don’t really see geeky gardeners in the near future right now. I mean, would you care to measure the exact concentration of fertilizer in the water and on the soil? No, you just put a teaspoon or two on your watering can and carry on with your chore or start telling stories to your flowers.

But who knows, I might be wrong right? We shall see on the day of judgement on 2018. I am very excited to see the progress on their projects. Honestly, pakiramdam ko ang kapal kapal ng mukha kong mag critic, gayong alam ko sa sarili kong hindi naman ganyang ka bongga yung Thesis namin noong mga panahon yun. Well I guess this is what they call progress. ibang iba na kase ang curriculum ng CpE ngayon compared noon. madaming subjects ang nadagdag at madaming subjects ang nabawas. pero ang summa total is ganun parin: Certified Product of Excellence.

On the lighter side, the I enjoyed being a panelist. I am able to mentor students and I am able to catch up with my professors and teachers. Napakaraming pagkain, nakakagulat nga kase pagkakaalam ko nag bayad na sila ng pampakain at honoraria for panelist, pero buhay parin yung tradition ng pagbibigay ng token of appreciation. Sayang wala si Mam Sim, nasa Korea siya nung mga paanhong yan.

The reason kung bakit sweet treat ang ma invite sa UE Caloocan as a panelist is because I can freely use my Engr. Title without having to explain myself. Hahahaha! Yung mga engineering students kase na walang board exam, instant engineer yang mga yan pag graduate. on the other hand, yung mga engineering students na may board exam, may batas na nag sasabihin hindi nila pwedeng gamitin yung title nila hangga’t hindi sila pumapasa sa PRC Board Exam.

Naaalala ko pa noong college days ko, the title is a big deal. I even considered na mag take ng Professional Computer Engineer Licensure examination abroad or doing double degree para kumuha ng ECE units at makapag board exam. Of course, now I know better. Sayang yung panahon na mag aaral ka pa ulit, why not jump into the conclusion: Do something that will contribute to the betterment of the society. Yan naman din kase ang guiding principle ng PRC kung bakit sila nag reregulate ng professions. O di kaya derecho trabaho nalang at nang makasweldo at makakain na ng mga pagkaing trip mong kainin! Hahaha!

Tsaka napakamahal mag maintain ng PRC License! Hahahaha! But seriously, I think kailangan mo lang kumuha ng lisensiya kapag ang profession mo ay may hinahandle ka na something that will put other people’s lives at risk. Kung ang profession mo eh hindi namang ganung ka critical, useless lang ang license. palamuti lang. ika nga nung isa kong prof, itapal mo sa noo mo kapag nanliligaw ka para malaman ng mga magulang na engineer ka. Kung alam niya lang, palagay ko mas effective ang payslip kaysa sa lisensiya. hahahaha!