Sketch Recognition Lab Summer Outings

Members of the Sketch Recognition Lab and Director Dr. Tracy Hammond are always busy - the stack of research, projects, and classes can almost seem unending. However, the time consuming schedules of SRL members are not so jam-packed to keep them from enjoying time with one another during lab outings.

Some outings consist of going out to movies like The Avengers or The Martian, eating together, or going for coffee. Some are more publicly situated than others. Recently, SRL went out to Grand Station in College Station to spend an evening bowling with one another. Grand Station has become a top pick for lab outings, when it’s convenient for a larger group.

(SRL Bowling outing - Left to Right: Katya Borgos-Rodriguez, Josh Cherian, Dr. Tracy Hammond, Hannah Conrad, Raniero Lara-Garduno, Jung-In Koh; Bottom: Angelica McMurty)

While most lab outings are spontaneous times for everyone to relax and enjoy some much needed downtime, the latest was also a farewell party to Katya Borgos-Rodriguez and Angelica McMurty, who helped Stephanie Valentine with KidGab updates and research over the summer, and Javier Anguas, Omar Garcia, Cristopher Cortes, and Aldo Haro (CANIETI Students, who were unfortunately unable to attend the bowling night).

While at Texas A&M University this summer, the CANIETI Students worked together on a project in the Sketch Recognition Lab. Their final prototype, called Smart Cap, is a hat which monitors the air quality and UV radiation that the wearer is exposed to and calculates Ultraviolet Index (UVI) and Air Quality Index (AQI). The cap is connected via Bluetooth to a smartphone, which then displays the findings.

Borgos-Rodriguez and McMurty, meanwhile, worked on new quizzes, drawings, plugins, and updates to KidGab. They also aided in summer Digital Friendship programs, hosted Digital Parties, and tracked information for KidGab until returning to their home universities.

(SRL Bowling Outing)

“I applied for the DRE Program. It was kind of a random encounter: I found it through a Facebook post. Someone posted it and I went ahead an applied and crossed my fingers and hoped for the best,” Borgos-Rodriguez explained how she found herself traveling from her home in Puerto Rico to Texas A&M University for the summer. “They assign you specific universities according to your interests.”

Once the DRE Program assigned her to Texas A&M University, Dr. Hammond contacted Borgos-Rodriguez via email with a description of projects that were available to work on over summer break. Stephanie Valentine, the creator of KidGab, was copied on the email because of her involvement with previous DRE students.

Borgos-Rodriguez mostly worked on new illustrations and styles for the cartoon avatars in KidGab. McMurty, on the other hand, mostly worked on new quizzes for KidGab members to take and participate in.

"My favorite thing about my summer experience," McMurty added later in the fall, "was to be able to work with really strong and amazing people, especially Stephanie [Valentine]." 

SRL loved hosting every one of our summer students, working beside them, and seeing their research take life at TAMU. We hope to see them all again in the near future!