This, however, was not their first trip to Texas A&M University. A few years ago, they won a week trip as a first place award of a challenge that they won in Europe.
“It was a really cool stay – we really enjoyed what we saw here,” Cambier explained their motivation for spending spring in Texas. “When we decided to work on a master thesis, we just talked about A&M. It was a great experience, so why not try again for a longer period?”
While at SRL, Cambier and Honore combined their interest of computer intel and science to work together on a prototype for a project titled SmartBricks. Consider, for a moment, Legos that could be used to build functioning, programmable technology. That’s SmartBricks. With and easy-to-use code creator (that looks a lot like a digital drag-and-drop circuit board), users can program individual blocks to do various functions in a process.
(Marc Honore [left] and Romain Cambier [right] working on SmartBricks)
In the video here, SmartBricks is seen in action. In the video, it is programmed to be a screen cleaner for a smartphone. Each command is shown in order throughout the process.
When asked if they would take the chance to return to SRL, Cambier and Honore smiled.
“A lot of people have been asking us to stay,” Honore stated.
“We really enjoyed our stay here, really enjoyed the people – the people were all very welcoming,” Cambier added before both quietly agreed that they would probably take the opportunity to return, if it was presented to them.
Being a part of Texas A&M University and SRL has given Cambier and Honore many experiences, both good and challenging.
It only took Honore a beat to list the weekly lab meetings as one of his favorite memories and aspects of the lab.
“It means there is a lot of interaction between all of us, which I think is really good for SRL,” he stated. “And all the activities that are done outside the lab – like our waffle day.”
Waffle Day 2015 is a day that will live on forever in SRL memory. The event was announced via an email titled “Belgian waffle day.” One morning, Cambier and Honore decided to bake waffles for the lab. Like a wildfire, the excitement to eat Belgium waffles made by Belgians spread. The event was so popular (and the cooks were so good) that there was a second event a month after the first.
“Everyone is very friendly,” Cambier agreed. “It’s very welcoming and very cool.”
Of course, both students encountered a few obstacles while studying abroad. Most of which occurred before they ever arrived. Obtaining a student visa from the federal government is not a cake walk. Papers, forms, and background checks slow the process down exponentially. It took about three weeks for Cambier and Honore to complete the process.
“One thing that was difficult, here, during the first week is to find everything, from buildings to places to eat,” Cambier added about Texas A&M University.
However, no challenge could keep them away from having fun and touring a few Texas hotspots, such as San Antonio (which was Honore’s favorite place visited), Austin, and Houston (which was combined with the Space Center to create Cambier’s favorite visit).
(Romain Cambier working in SRL)
In a word, their departure from SRL was bittersweet. Everyone was happy to have made two new friends, and were sad to see them go so soon. Although Cambier and Honore were leaving TAMU, they were going home to all the things they were excited to see again:
“My family,” Honore instantly listed.
“Girlfriend,” Cambier commented, getting a quick agreement from Honore.
“The food.”
“Oh, yeah! The food!”
As their visit came to a close, Cambier and Honore gave a few tidbits of advice based on their hindsight.
“The most difficult part [of transitioning into the lab] was finding a desk,” Honore joked. “But besides that, the first day we came here was a Monday, so there was a lab meeting and we got to meet a lot of people. Then, afterward, Paul and Jung-In took us out to lunch. After that, it just took us a while to get all the stuff we needed.”
“Honestly, people were so welcoming and friendly that it was easy to discuss and find what we needed,” Cambier added. “I remember at the first week, Vijay took us to grab some stuff to start working.”
“All we had to do was go next door and find people,” Honore concluded.
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