REU Site: Developing Smart and Autonomous Internet-of-Things Systems

Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc., Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

Due to the pervasiveness of the Internet and wireless networking, mobile devices are increasingly being interconnected through the system described as the Internet-of-Things (IoT). Coupled with advancements in integrated sensor technologies, IoT has generated a new wave of opportunities for cooperation and collaboration between devices, machines and humans to create smart systems. Motivated by the wide array of opportunities in the IoT space, this Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site will target developing smart and autonomous IoT systems. The REU site exposes students to emerging areas of computer science and engineering and provides them with the opportunities for hands-on research training and experience in emerging smart technologies. This research experience, along with the proposed student development activities, encourages students to continue on to further their education. The program particularly recruits students from campuses and community colleges in rural and low-income communities across Georgia, as these students often are first-generation college attendees and/or have limited opportunities to work with the latest technologies. The vision of the REU site is to encourage competitive research in early stages of undergraduate students' career and motivate them to pursue higher education to conduct highly skilled research and development in future. The site supports 10 participants for an 8-week period in the summer of each REU year. The participants work in teams on specific projects mentored by the REU site’s organizing group that consists of five faculty mentors, two mentors from industry and four graduate student mentors. Each of these projects will use a variety of hardware, ranging from sensors to mobile devices to drones, and will provide an experience and opportunity to the students in developing their skills to design end-to-end IoT systems. The specific intellectual merits of the program are derived from diverse projects in IoT and autonomous systems. In addition to the technical development, students get training on personal and professional development such as advise on pursuing graduate studies, primer on ethics and professionalism in research, and exercise in writing and presenting technical work. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.