Post by Nima on Apr 22, 2016 18:26:19 GMT -5
My name's Nima. For those curious about my name, it's Persian/Iranian. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and completed my BS in CS at UCLA in 2012. Since graduation, I've worked on A LOT of different projects. To keep things concise, I'll list out my projects with a brief description of each:
For the past year I've been taking courses in machining during the nights/weekends. It's really fun! I've learned how to code/operate CNC machines (lathe and mill), using CAM systems, learning about inspection (CMM) and understanding the basics of manual mill/lathe. I'd be happy to help anyone who's interested in machining their parts for the MRSD project. The Robotics Institute has a legit machine shop; however, it seems like there are some fees associated with using it...
I've also been helping out on various projects to automate the deployment of fiber optic conduit. In this pursuit, I wrote a few grant applications, one of which was accepted by Google! Dr. Chirikjian at Johns Hopkins will be working this coming Fall on underground localization. GPS and most other localization techniques don't work very well underground, so other techniques have to be developed. I've also done some work in this area with Dr. Hong at UCLA and Dr. Celik/Dr. Mooney at Colorado School of Mines.
My reason for joining CMU MRSD is to work with like-minded driven people to build a machine that will automate the deployment of small diameter tunnels (aka pipes). There are A LOT of applications for this technology and, surprisingly, it's a highly under-research area of study! I'll post more information about this project in the "MRSD Projects" section of the forum. Part of my motivation for creating this forum was to connect with you guys to start working on this project before school starts.
After MRSD, I'm not sure where I'll be going. I'd like to think I'll be working on developing some form of underground tunneling machine, whether it be in industry or academia.
- Google: software engineer on the Google Maps team -- specifically, I worked on building the postcard verification process for businesses to get their listing on Google Maps, etc... I also built some tools for customer support operators to assist business owners.
- Primsly: a web app allowing engineers to receive contractually-binding offers from companies before interviewing
- Nimatel: phone card VOIP service (using Freeswitch connected to SIP Trunk).
- Signal Mobile: Software-defined radio based cellular network. The project would make licensed spectrum obsolete -- i.e., anyone can build a cellular network without owning license spectrum (which currently costs billions of $). Work on the project is still underway at UCLA. The hope is to eventually license the technology to new market entrants.
- ShareFi: allowing non-technical users to have enterprise-grade WiFi security at home, without any of the complex setup/management. It was meant for AirBnB hosts.
- Airbnb Spam Messenger: a bot that sends messages to Airbnb hosts (used for ShareFi).
- AirbnbApi.org: I manage some documentation that describes how to connect to the AirBnB API. Currently, airbnbapi.org is the only docs available for the Airbnb API, as Airbnb hasn't released their own... If you're interested, join the Airbnb Developer group on Facebook!
- Hotel Promo-code SEO: I wrote a script that performs SEO on promo-codes. Specifically used for HotelsTonight and AirBnB. I wouldn't recommend doing this, as I can't use most hotel booking websites anymore.
- Jet.com -> Amazon.com Arbitrage: I wrote an application that continuously pulled Jet.com's listings and posted them to Amazon.com with a 30% mark-up. FYI, Jet.com's products are often much cheaper than Amazon's. Jet.com's ToS does not allow resale -- banned from Jet.com after completing $15k in orders.
- Tavoos Iranian TV -- Roku app to watch Iranian TV channels. Currently working on similar apps for other ethnic regions.
- Uber/Lyft comparison app -- working on an app to allow users to quickly compare Lyft/Uber prices. Not vague prices like "$10-15," but rather exact pricing based on mileage and time (Uber/Lyft provide this data through their mobile app API).
For the past year I've been taking courses in machining during the nights/weekends. It's really fun! I've learned how to code/operate CNC machines (lathe and mill), using CAM systems, learning about inspection (CMM) and understanding the basics of manual mill/lathe. I'd be happy to help anyone who's interested in machining their parts for the MRSD project. The Robotics Institute has a legit machine shop; however, it seems like there are some fees associated with using it...
I've also been helping out on various projects to automate the deployment of fiber optic conduit. In this pursuit, I wrote a few grant applications, one of which was accepted by Google! Dr. Chirikjian at Johns Hopkins will be working this coming Fall on underground localization. GPS and most other localization techniques don't work very well underground, so other techniques have to be developed. I've also done some work in this area with Dr. Hong at UCLA and Dr. Celik/Dr. Mooney at Colorado School of Mines.
My reason for joining CMU MRSD is to work with like-minded driven people to build a machine that will automate the deployment of small diameter tunnels (aka pipes). There are A LOT of applications for this technology and, surprisingly, it's a highly under-research area of study! I'll post more information about this project in the "MRSD Projects" section of the forum. Part of my motivation for creating this forum was to connect with you guys to start working on this project before school starts.
After MRSD, I'm not sure where I'll be going. I'd like to think I'll be working on developing some form of underground tunneling machine, whether it be in industry or academia.