Miscellaneous Projects during PhD
Status: Inactive
Dates: 2022 to 2023
A collection of smaller projects and explorations from my first year at Georgia Tech, spanning environmental data equity, wireless network planning, and ubiquitous computing.
Environmental Data Supply Chain
Accurate, inclusive, and representative environmental data are essential for understanding and responding to climate change. As the final project for CS 6745: Information and Communication Technologies and Development taught by Dr. Neha Kumar, my teammate Leslie Dwolatzky and I explored the lifecycle of environmental data by interviewing key stakeholders throughout the pipeline and synthesising findings on how the data supply chain impacts environmental equity.
A variety of community, government, corporate, and non-profit stakeholders contribute to this sophisticated pipeline that collects, processes, disseminates, and uses environmental data. Although typically perceived as value-neutral, we argue — drawing on an environmental data justice framework introduced by Vera et al. — that this supply chain is vulnerable to systemic bias that privileges existing power structures and inadequately serves marginalised communities, who are also disproportionately affected by climate change. Our analysis surfaces themes of technological indeterminism, individual versus structural changemakers, and the monetary framing of environmental impact, and recommends improvements that avoid extractivism and promote equity.
Planning Local Wireless Networks Using LiDAR Data
Open-source tools for planning community wireless internet networks incorporate limited external data and are constrained in quality. LiDAR data provides a three-dimensional representation of a landscape — including buildings, trees, and other structures — that can significantly improve Line-of-Sight planning for fixed wireless networks. Using the town of Concord, Georgia as a case study, we demonstrated that a 3D LiDAR-based model identified LoS between 22 of 50 homes in the community, compared to just 4 homes using a conventional 2D model. This finding has significant implications for reducing material and maintenance costs in last-mile community wireless networks.
Environmental Data Ferries
I explored algorithms for coordinating community members to collect data from distributed environmental sensors, drawing on prior work in “Message Ferries” where mobile agents transfer messages between fixed endpoints. Using custom Python simulations, I evaluated several algorithms on total distance travelled and fairness of distribution among community members. By accounting for fairness when assigning sensors to community members, the average distance travelled did not significantly increase while the standard deviation decreased by around 20%.
Hackpack Backpack
To reduce the burden and complexity of ecological fieldwork, I led a team to develop the Hackpack — a wearable device that automatically downloads data wirelessly from in-situ sensors and provides the wearer with real-time status information. This began as a class project for CS 7470: Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing taught by Dr. Thomas Ploetz. The current prototype uses a Raspberry Pi to communicate via Bluetooth with deployed sensors, check for common warnings such as missing timestamps or low battery, and display status on the user’s smartphone. The Hackpack stores data locally until the user has reliable internet coverage, eliminating the need to physically connect to sensors or use a laptop in the field to verify data quality.
Colombia Connectivity
Through a partnership between the U.S. Department of State Diplomacy Lab and the Georgia Tech Computing and Society Lab, we worked with the U.S. Embassy in Colombia to understand and improve internet access across various regions. Our primary role was providing technical expertise on internet measurement and the trade-offs between technologies — including fibre optic, fixed wireless, and satellite — that could be used to expand connectivity. We compiled a report comparing these technologies, presenting case studies of successful deployments, and making concrete recommendations for the Colombian government. Per the embassy’s request, the report focused on regions historically most affected by conflict and now prioritised for economic development.
