Technology on the Trail

The Spring 2019 school term provided the opportunity for senior undergraduate students in computer science to take part in client-based projects related to technology on the trail. Each project was asked to address some trail-related problem through a tech implementation. Below is a summary of the projects that they undertook.

NOTE: some of the students continued their work on the projects, and others were continued by grad students and clients toward being incorporated in grants, papers, theses, and dissertations. This post has been and will continue to be updated with links to new papers.

• BarkLight. This ICAT-sponsored project augments a large piece of tree bark with LED lights. The lights connect to data streams, including web data and Kinect motion capture data, to reflect changes in the data. This award-winning project was featured at ICAT Day and VTURCS, and we are looking for corporate sites interested in deployment. The project was sponsored by Architecture prof Matt Wagner and CS prof Scott McCrickard.
• Trail Tweets. Undergrads Max Adler, Aarjab Goudel, and Anthony Medovar reinvented a project that looked at ways to visualize tweet data from the trail, assisted by grad student Shuo Niu and CS faculty Ed Fox. This semester’s group looked at pictures that were tweeted from the trail, seeking to help future trail users identify interesting areas for exploration through a web-based application. Shuo discusses this research further in the future work of his dissertation.
• Storytelling on the Trail. Undergrads Nicholaus Clark, John Kook, Dylan Finch, and Emily Maher crafted a Picturing Trails app that explored ways that users can create a story using photos that they took on hikes and other outdoor adventures. The slow-moving, nature-focused characteristics of a hike provide a unique opportunity to capture a beautiful experience, but hikers do not want to be disturbed with requests for tags and notes (or even picture-taking). Ph.D. student Derek Haqq is exploring this research direction for his dissertation, under the direction of CS faculty member Scott McCrickard and Communication faculty member Mike Horning.
• Expanding HEART by Improving Recruitment. Vanessa Lomeli, Phillip Hrinko, Keller Han, and Juan Segura worked with the Human Nutrition Foods and Exercise Department to help develop a web site to recruit pregnant women learn about ways to stay healthy during their pregnancy, particularly through regular exercise, diet, and community building.
• BirdFeed. Chandler Manns and Stephen Tewes crafted an updated birdwatching app in support of birdwatching in the New River Valley. The students collected task-related information from educators, including Mike Rosenzweig from Blacksburg’s SEEDS center, birding club president Garrett Rhyne, and Biological Sciences prof Dana Hawley. Grad student Tim Stelter seeks to leverage the project findings in his citizen science research.
• Fostering Digital Cooperative Management on the Appalachian Trail. Undergrads Parker Irving, Daniel Ocheltree, and Campbell Johnson worked with the Outdoor Club of Virginia Tech on a web-based system to support Appalachian Trail maintenance issues, including public reporting, scheduling, work trip reporting, and time management. Club members, and the project host and club advisor Christina McIntyre, can now maintain records of work toward easier scheduling and reporting.
• Accessibility Mapping at Virginia Tech. Mechanical Engineering student Josh Wenger joined computer science students Yasmine Belghith, Jack Danisewicz, and Mahira Sheikh to provide campus navigation based on user mobility constraints. The group interviewed stakholders, including disabled students and faculty, campus officials working in the accessibility office, and advocates for accessibility. They crafted a high-fidelity prototype that is being used by Hani Awni and Dr. Alan Asbeck from Virginia Tech’s Assistive Robotics Lab, to be used to increase campus accessibility.