COMPENDIUM OF PROJECTS

This webpage lists my professional and personal projects. This includes projects relate to my Ph.D. research topic, computer programming, Google Android API , Arduino hardware programming, and other platforms. I try to update this section frequently but it may not reflect the latest information. For details of the projects, contact me..

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GOOGLE's ANDROID OS DEVELOPMENT

Actively followed the Android OS developments and have been involved with the user community ever since the OS's first release. Compiled the OS with some modification to the user interface and the "phone" module to run on personal cell phone. I keep an up-to-date knowledge of the recent developments in this mobile operating system which definitely has a huge potential in the coming years.

• Caller's Name: Developed an application to announce the name of the incoming caller using the Android API's text-to-speech (TTS) engine. The application reads out the name of the caller if it is found in the address book. This functionality is specially useful for international names. Google address book doesn't allow entering phonetic spelling, so the "notes" field is hacked to work as a surrogate. If the phonetic spelling of the name is found in the address book's "notes" field, then the phonetic name is announced. So, if your phone is not within reach, you can just hear the name of the caller and decide whether to talk the call or not. COMPLETED (source code for Android 1.5 available on request)

• RemoteCmd: This application is a simple remote command execution program. You send a "command" as text (SMS) to the phone with this application installed and the phone executes that command. The SMS has to be in a pre-defined format. Once the application receives the text, it executes the command. This application can be modified to switch on phone's GPS remotely and then return the location (coordinates) of the phone in case the phone is lost or dropped. NOTE: I used this application to turn on the GPS on my cell phone (T-Mobile G1) when I dropped it in the train when I got off at Richmond, CA station. The I tracked it's movement on my netbook sitting at the train station waiting for the train to get back from Oakland. Click here to look at the GPS log over-layed on Google Maps tracking my phone's lonesome journey. COMPLETED (source code available on request)

• TempVoicemailbox: This application is still in the conceptualization stage. The idea is to quickly record VM greeting message, say before a meeting, and redirect all calls to the pre-recorded message. Use Case: User was expecting a call from his/her spouse but had to get into an urgent emergency meeting. He/she can quickly record a short message and avoid an angry spose. Later on, other functions would be added. For example, selecting contacts to be redirected to the temporary mailbox. CONCEPTUALIZED

• GoJack - A lo-jack for Android phones:

This is a lo-jack for phone, which means you can track down your lost/stolen phone by tracking it's location. The location tracking can be turned on/off remotely by executing commands via a SMS text. This application hasn't received much attention from me because of the available applications for the Android platform which duplicate the purpose of this application.DEVELOPMENT PAUSED

RESEARCH PROJECTS

• Ph.D. Research Topic: A new model to estimate time-scale of recharge for shallow water table slide
• Development of a new methodology to estimate the timing and quantity of groundwater reacharge based on simple soil parameters and rainfall time series.
• High resolution soil-moisture data is being used to calibrate 1-D HYDRUS hypothetical model simulations for different soil parameters and antecedent soil moisture conditions.
• The time of recharge obtained from these model simulation will be used to define a normalized time (T) dimension parameter representing recharge timing.

• Landslide-Safe Intelligent Route Finder (LaSIRF): Shortest route using Dijkstra’s algorithm
• Processing of Satellite Image for nodal heights/hazard factors for determining cost
• Implementation of Dijkstra’s algorithm for Shortest Route
• Development of Landslide-Safe Intelligent Route Finder (LaSIRF), an image processing program specifically developed for route planning in areas susceptible to landslides, like the young mountains of Himalayas and Alps.
It utilizes various input data layers, viz., DEM, landuse/landcover, and landslide hazard zonation developed using satellite imagery

Project Guide: Dr. Manoj Arora, Associate Professor, IIT Roorkee


• Processing of Brightness Temperature Data, Himalayan Region (IRS P-4 satellite data)

• Processed Brightness Temperature (Tb) Data and Imaging of Himalayan Region (IRS P-4 satellite data)
• Snow/Ice studies of Himalayan Snow
• Summer Internship project

Project Guide: Dr. K. S. Rao, Principal Research Scientist, CSRE, IIT Bombay
CENTRE FOR STUDIES IN RESOURCE ENGINEERING (CSRE, IIT BOMBAY) June 2003


• Virtual Fluid Mechanics Laboratory
• Summer project for the development of Virtual Laboratory for Fluid Mechanics
• Simulation of experiments using Visual Basic 6.0 & AVI Animator

SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AWARD (IIT ROORKEE) June 2002

ARDUINO HARDWARE PROGRAMMING

Arduino is an open-source electronics hardware/software prototyping platform. The microcontroller is programmed using Arduino programming language. The development environment is based on Processing, an open-source programming language with advanced graphics output options.

I don't own the official Arduino kit. I reporposed an old ATMEL STK-500 kit with the Atmel Processor ATmega328 with 32 kiB Flash memory, 14 I/O pins and 6 analog pins. Here's is the layout diagram for converting the STK-500 to Arduino board.

• Modifying the WRT-54G wireless router's hardware to support a serial port to control Arduino's I/O pins over the internet (Project Idea)
• This is a home-automation project. The idea is to control the A/C thermostat and house light over the internet. WRT-54G can be modified (information available online) to support serial ports. Arduino hardware can be connected to the serial port and controlled over the internet. The challenge is to handle the A/C thermostat (along with ambient temperature feedback) to swithch on/off the A/C unit or/and change the temperature settings.

• Using Arduino to automate room lights (Summer 2010)
• Reporposed an old electromechanical relay array from National Instruments to control the room lights and other electronics. The relayas on this board were controlled by the ATmega328 uC on the Arduino board. Electronics

• Continuous rotation motor/Remote controlled window blinds (Summer 2009)
• A 180 degree rotation servo motor's electronics was modified to act as a continuous rotation servo motor. It was controlled by an Arduino board. The microcontroller 'pin' controlling the servo motor's direction of rotation was controlled by input from an Infra-red reciever triggered by a universal TV remote control programed with the available 'sony TV protocol' IR codes. The infrared reciever was salvaged from an old TV set's IR module. The next step is to move the blinds to one side (exposing the window) using another motor after the blinds as fully open and then back in place, followed by closing the blinds.

COMPUTER SECURITY RELATED

I am a part of the Whitehatters Computer Security Club(WCSC) at the University of South Florida. It is a student group focussed on learning and teaching computer/network related security issues. We meet every friday evening to learn about the vulnerabilities and exploits relating to computers (stand alone programs and networks). The team participates in various CTF (Capture The Flag) hacking competitions over the year. Other fun activities involve lock picking (Pin tumbler/dead bolt locks, Wafer locks). A good website to get started and practice your skills is www.hackthissite.org