Week 22 -- ICAHRR and HUBO

1. (What I learned about Korea)

I did my first noribang -- Korean kareoke -- while at the conference. It was a lot of fun. I got to experience the fun of noribang, and I learned about how it works.

When a bunch of us went out for lunch at the conference, we had a multi-dish family style meal. While many of the meals here are family-style, most of the ones I've had only feature one dish, which everyone takes from (the hot pot, or sweet and sour chicken, for instance). This was the first in which everyone got something different and the dishes were still split. It was an interesting experience.

At the conference, RoboWorld -- a robotics theme park, to be built in Incheon -- was discussed. I learned a lot about what the Korean government is doing to make Incheon more prominent -- among other things, it made the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) to bring in business. RoboWorld also gives a few hints about Korean culture. It's to be a massive robotics theme park, but also include a commercial area and an R&D sector. Even in amusement parks, industry will still have a dominant role.

2. (Project status)

I successfully presented at the ICAHRR conference, and I wrote up notes on the other presentations. I created slides for the ICHIT conference.

After much persistence, I may finally get on a HUBO platform (the HUBO itself does not seem to be available, but a set of HUBO arms have been hooked up). In preparation for this, I've prepared the beat tracker/dancing algorithm to make the arms move.

3. (Photo of the week)

Us conference people, out at lunch.

4. (What I learned about myself)

I did my first conference presentation this week, and got through it. I learned that I can present my work to scholars in my field.

5. (New people I met this week)

I met several new people at the conference, including Martin Saerbeck, a German researcher (Back left, in the photo).

Week 21 -- David in Incheon

1. (What I learned about Korea)

I dropped by the Hoedeok Hyanggyo this week. This is an old Confucian school that has been turned into a historical monument. It was nice to see, and I learned a little more about the old hyanggyos and how they are laid out.

Due to my ICAHRR conference, I would be spending Sunday and beyond in Incheon. This I decided to take a little time Saturday to see Seoul, since the two cities are relatively close. I took a day tour of the city and saw several old monuments, including Gyeongbok Palace. Walking around the palace was really cool. The tour guide also taught us about Korean history (like the histories of the various kings and dynasties, and the Japanese invasion) and old customs. We also saw the Ginseng Center, where we learned about the development and harvesting of ginseng, and Insadong, where we got to do some traditional shopping. It was a great chance to learn about Seoul.

I saw some marches while in Seoul -- Saturday was Liberation Day, commemorating the freedom of Korea from Japanese invaders. I learned a little about the history of that when I was in Seoul.

I took the KTX to Seoul, and eventually the subway from Seoul to Incheon. I thus learned more about Korean intercity transportation.

2. (Project status)

I completed my ICAHRR slides and rehearsed my ICAHRR presentation this week. I added some things to the motor controller documentation and posted it online. I also finished gesture choreography.

3. (Photos of the week)

Three photos this week. One is of the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, the second is of Insadong in Seoul, and the third is of the ICAHRR conference.

4. (What I learned about myself)

Getting to Incheon required taking multiple forms of transportation, but I was able to do it, demonstrating my ability to use public transportation even when I don't understand the language.

5. (New people I met this week)

I've met numerous new people at the conference. One such person is Dr. Igor Verner of Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology. We had a good talk at the opening party about robotics and our research.

Week 20 -- samhap and presentations

1. (What I learned about Korea)

Up to now most of the dishes I've tried have been standard Korean fare, or Daejeon specialties. But this week the lab went out to dinner at a place that served samhap, a specialty from another region of Korea, Gwangju. Samhap translates to 'Three combination' and is a combination of kimchi, pork, and skate (a kind of stingray). It has a very unusual taste -- in particular, there was a strong ammonia scent to the dish (this site, while rather harsh towards the dish, explains where that scent comes from). I don't know if I'd get it again, but it was certainly fun to try it once, especially in good company.

We also went out as a group to a cutlet shop where we ground our own sesame seeds. That was also a new experience for me. It was interesting mixing the ingredients myself (with the ground seeds, wasabi, and a barbecue-like sauce) to properly prepare the cutlet.

Finally, Clayton and I went with Sean and Jihwan to pick up a new part for the crane. So I got to see how the inter-city mail works (turns out that, instead of a post office, some packages can just be picked up at bus terminals). Not the same as America, and very interesting.

2. (Project status)

I constructed my presentations for ICAHRR and ICHIT this week. I also added some supplementary data to the HUBO flowcharts and posted them online. I was able to get on the HUBO just long enough to verify the audio.

3. (Photo of the week)

Grinding sesame seeds:

4. (What I learned about myself)

The samhap was at first difficult to eat, but I was able to stick it out and enjoy it. I learned that I can eat foods that at first have an extremely unusual taste or smell.

5. (New people I met this week)

I didn't meet anyone new this week.

6. (Politics)

The two captured journalists were freed from North Korea. This is good news, and it signifies that perhaps N. Korea is more open to negotiating than their saber rattling on July 4 and before indicated. Neither Clayton nor I were really worried about the situation before, but I suppose it is reassuring nevertheless.

Week 19 -- Gestures and shoes

1. (What I learned about Korea)

While at lunch one day this week, I took note of the shoes near the front door. Most of them did not have laces. It seems that in general Korean shoes use straps or buckles, as opposed to laces. This makes sense, as shoes are removed much more often in Korea -- namely, whenever entering a residence (even a dormitory room or hotel room) and also when entering most restaurants.

I tried a new kind of food this week; I went to a kaiten-zushi place. This is a restaurant where a conveyor belt runs through the restaurant, passing every seat, and plates of sushi, sashimi, and other small foods go around on the belt. Diners take whatever plates they want off the belt, and the price is calculated by counting the number of plates at the end of the meal. It was a lot of fun, and the sushi tasted great.

2. (Project status)

I cleared up some issues with ICAHRR and ICHIT, and wrapped up the motor controller documentation. Next week I will write the presentations for the two conferences.

I also crafted some HUBO gestures so that it will be able to dance with a variety of motions, and passed those on to Jungwoo for simulation.

Clayton and I gave Major Korpela a lab tour as well.

3. (Photo of the week)

The sushi belt and Major Christopher Korpela.

4. (What I learned about myself)

The HUBO lab tour went off without a hitch, so I learned that I've become knowledgeable enough about the HUBO lab and all its assorted projects to describe them to others.

5. (New people I met this week)

I met Major Korpela to do the lab tour. He was a very nice person, and very enthusiastic about the research going on in the lab. He seemed eager to do research at Drexel once he fulfilled his current set of military obligations.

Minji and I also exchanged more emails, trading our photos that we took in China.

Week 9 -- Ojeong and Bomunsan

1. (What I learned about Korea)

This week I went to the Ojeong-dong agriculture market and fishery. It was very large and I enjoyed walking around it. I got some food for the room, and I got to see how some of the more traditional markets work in Korea. 

I also went to the Daejeon Prehistoric Museum up in Noeun-dong. There I learned about ancient Korea and what went on back then.

I went over to Hannam University and saw the Central Museum there. They had exhibits of ancient pottery and ceramics, so I learned a little more about what those were like. I also saw an exhibit on the early Korean Christian missions.

I tried the Daejeon specialty dish of samgyetang, which is a chicken that's been stuffed with glutinous rice being cooked in broth and served with ginseng. It was good (although difficult to eat with chopsticks). So I know a little more about the Daejeon specialties now.

Finally, I hiked Bomunsan Mountain this Sunday. That was a very fun time. I saw some of the monuments on the mountain, including the UN monument (dedicated to the UN soldiers who defended the area in the Korean War) and the Bomunsaji ruins (a field and some remains of where a temple used to be). I also hiked up to the top of both peaks, and so I got some very nice views of the city.

2. (Project status)

I've begun working on the back end for the GUI. It's very involved, but I'm making good progress. I also submitted the ICAHRR camera-ready paper.

3. (Photo of the week)

The view from a lookout post on Bomunsan mountain.

4. (What I learned about myself)

I hiked Bomunsan for over six hours, which is the most hiking I've done yet on the trip, so I showed myself that I can handle such a long hike. I also have begun trying the specialty dishes, and I enjoyed samgyetang, so I now know that I like the Daejeon signature foods.

5. (New people I met)

While on Bomunsan I met two English teachers, Theresa and Renee, from Canada. They're both relatively new in Daejeon (two months or less in city for both of them). We discussed the local environment and some good tourist locations. 

Week 8 -- Teacher Day and Uam

1. (What I learned about Korea)

This weekend I visited a few different tourist attractions. The first was Dongsan Pottery Museum, a very small museum in the north-east quarter of the city. It took me a few cabs to find it (it's rather obscure and the first couple drivers couldn't locate it), but it was worth it -- I learned some things about Korean pottery, and I got a couple of free books about the subject as a gift. So that was nice.

After Dongsan I went to Uam Historical Park. It has a lot of old-style buildings, as well as a museum about the founder (Song Si-Yeol, pen name of Uam). It was an extremely peaceful place. It was lightly drizzling and some mist hung over the mountain peaks behind the park (Uam is on a lower slope of Gyejoksan), and it was very relaxing to wander around and look at the structures and the paths. I learned about some traditional Korean structures while I was there.

My third destination was Dongchundang. This is a nature park on a city block that also includes a few historical houses. The houses in front of the wooded area were originally built for Korean scholar, Song Jun-Gil (pen name of Dongchundang), in the Joseon dynasty. They were recreated and kept as a monument to him. 

 On Sunday, I completed the hike that Clayton and I got lost attempting last week, and I made it all the way through the Hwanbon mountain trial. The path terminated in Munji-Dong, Yuseong-Gu, and it was a great walk. I then got to explore Munji-Dong a little. It seemed similar to the Yuseong Market area, at least the part I saw of it.

Lastly, on Friday, it was Teacher Day. This meant that the whole lab went out to dinner with Dr. Jun Oh. It was a very nice meal; we had all-you-can-eat barbecue at a restaurant north of KAIST. The barbecue was followed with a rice or noodle course. It was very good, and reminded me of when I came to Daejeon for URAI and we had a similar meal. All in all, I both learned about the Teacher Day custom, and about Korean barbecue during the meal.

2. (Project status)

Clayton and I are starting to make a new GUI. We're doing it in C# instead of MFC, so Clayton and I wrote a program to get and set the shared memory variables between the C++ and C# systems. I also studied a C# tutorial to learn the language. Also, I sent the first draft of the camera-ready ICAHRR paper to Dr. Kim, and finished the ICHIT paper. 

3. (Pictures of the week)

Two this week. The first is of Uam, the second of Dongchundang.

4. (What I learned about myself)

By completing the hike, I learned that I can indeed get through the Hwanbon mountain trail (and, more generally, on complex mountain paths in general) without getting lost.

Also, I'm beginning to put together lists of where else I want to go during weekends in Korea (on the list so far -- Seoul a few times, Jeju, the DMZ, and Busan). So I'm doing some thinking and prioritizing about what I want to see the most.

5. (New people I met)

Clayton and I went to a CostCo this Sunday, and while we were there we ran into a couple people Clayton had met while seeing the Star Trek movie. Kevin and Caroline were English teachers, and they'd both been in the area for at least 18 months. They gave us some advice on where to go (Caroline in particular recommended Busan as a great place to visit during the summer, for the beaches and the aquarium). We might meet up with them later this week when we see Terminator.

Week 5 -- Flowcharts and museums

1. (What I learned about Korea)

On Monday I went back to the Immigration Office and picked up my updated Visa and my alien card. So now I know how to do that, and I know what the alien card looks like. It's nice having an ID that's small enough to fit in my wallet again.

This past Saturday I went to the Ungno Lee Museum and the Daejeon Municipal Museum of Art. Both were art museums. The Ungno Lee Museum had more traditional paintings and drawings, while the DMMA had mostly modern art. I enjoyed both of them and learned some things about Korean artwork.

I also saw the Hanbat Arboretum, basically a small garden area. It was relaxing to walk around and explore. I wasn't aware that there were natural areas like that right in the middle of the city (it's right behind the two art museums I went to, themselves only twenty or so minutes from Nuri Hall on foot), so now I know and I can seek out more of them in the future.

Finally, on the same journey, I stumbled upon the Natural Heritage Museum. It's a very small museum that chronicles the animals of Korea. A guide showed me around and I learned about the various rare or endangered species native to Korea. 

I went to see the KAIST orchestra on Friday night. It sounded great. For the first half they did classical music, and for the second they played more popular movie music (like a collection of excerpts from Disney pieces, and a collection of John Williams excerpts, including several Star Wars pieces and the Jaws theme). They had a guy wearing a shark costume come out and run around the front of the audience during the Jaws bit, which was fun to see. The music sounded great as well. And then there was the fun bit at the end, where the conductor let the audience keep time (by clapping) during the last piece, the 1812 Overture. So overall, I learned that the KAIST orchestra is very entertaining.

During the week, the school fair happened, and several of the international student groups put together a food fair, where they set up booths and served traditional foods from their various countries. I had some very good curry from the Indian booth, and something very much like a cheesesteak from the Chile booth. It was great, and I learned that KAIST does events like this, and that it's a good idea to go to them.

2. (Project status)

I completed most of the HUBO project documentation this week, including making the flowcharts and describing all the shared memory variables. All that remains is to tidy up the flowcharts and finish describing the variables whose scope is just the HUBO project. After this, I'll be doing the same thing for the khr3win project. The two work together in order to run the robot.

Also, the ICAHRR paper was accepted! So I'll be working on revising that in the coming weeks, as well as working on a new paper for another conference that will take place in Daejeon this August.

3. (Photo of the week)

One of the exhibits at the Natural Heritage Museum. According to the guide, these tigers are found in North Korea.

4. (What I learned about myself)

I learned that I enjoy the art in the Ungno Lee Museum and the DMMA, and that I like garden areas such as the Hanbat Arboretum.

5. (New people I met)

I didn't meet anyone new this week.