Elise Davies, Digital Media BSc(Hons0

App to assist people living with dementia

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Elise Davies, Digital Media BSc(Hons) tells us about her final year project (and her course).

“I chose Brighton because not many universities offered digital media and I liked the variety of the course. I was going to choose graphic design but I wanted the knowledge of coding which this course given me. The city of Brighton was also a big factor, there is always something going on and it’s a lovely city to live in.

I have enjoyed the variety of the modules, they all draw on different parts of digital media the assignments are all different. I have enjoyed learning new things and meeting new people. The range of software and the variety of things I have learnt is definitely something I would recommend.  The module choice is quite flexible, many of the people on my course are have taken the course in a different path to me and this can be seen in their final year projects.

My final year project is a smartphone application called A)(ON which is designed to assist the daily life of people living with dementia. It allows users to live independently in their home; this will reduce the amount of people entering care homes who have an early diagnosis of dementia.

A)(ON is designed for people living with dementia and their carers. The application will organise the patient’s day to increase their wellbeing. The patient can complete activities throughout the day to encourage independence. This would give peace of mind to their family members and reduce carer reliance.

I feel like I have gained skills in many different areas and this will hopefully make more employable and gives me more career options.”

John Evans. Computer Science (Games) BSc(Hons)

Desk navigating robot using computer vision

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Computer Science (Games) BSc(Hons) student John Evans tells us a bit about his course  and demos his final year project robot at the Computing Degree Show.

“I chose this course as it is a general computer science course which could give me more options compared to focusing purely on games.  The artificial intelligence modules and web-based games module were the most exciting for me personally, as I got to explore interesting concepts with technologies I enjoyed using.

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Amandeep Kaur Bhasin. Computer Science BSc(Hons)

My Brighton experience – Amandeep Kaur Bhasin, Computer Science BSc(Hons)

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I had an interest in technology from a young age and believed that Computer Science would allow me to understand more about tech and learn the skills I would need to join the tech world. Brighton is also known as UK’s next digital tech hub and this can be seen by the various small business and start-ups within the area. This makes having the University of Brighton on my CV much more valuable for employers.

I would highly recommend Computer Science to anyone considering it. There is a good mix of modules within the course (mostly technical) but you will have a few modules throughout the degree which will teach you how businesses may apply these principles.

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Sam Buxton

Head in the cloud

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Sam Buxton, Business Information Systems BA(Hons), talks about his work experience at RSM UK and migrating into the Microsoft Cloud.

I did my placement at RSM UK where I worked as an IT Trainee for 16 months. The role encompassed everything from IT Support tasks, all the way up to designing and deploying solutions to meet the business needs. I managed the third line support desk while simultaneously working on agile project tasks, such as the migration of employees into the Microsoft Cloud. I also had the opportunity to help colleagues fit out new offices with the base networking infrastructure.

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Nafis Rubio Borrego BSc (Hons) Computer Science

Training NHS staff with augmented reality

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Nafis Jared Rubio Borrego, Computer Science BSc(Hons), took time out from presenting his work at the computing degree show to tell us a bit more about his project and placement experience.

“I love the diversity of the City and the University of Brighton is a nice place to study – it’s flexible, creative and exciting.

One of the highlights of the course was doing a placement year with a medical company, Eschmann Holdings, as Junior Software Developer. During my placement I implemented a continuous integration service using only open source software. I also developed an API (application programming interface) that connects to a US database and synchronises requirements for projects with the UK database.  In addition, the augmented reality application for the training of the NHS staff I worked on was also the basis for my dissertation.

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Celebrating success

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We celebrated some fantastic successes today with our award-winning computing students.

Head of School, John Taylor, introduced the School of Computing Engineering and Mathematics awards ceremony by leading a round of applause and congratulating all our winners.

Congratulations to Beck Rush, Digital Media Development BSc(Hons) and Arun Sharma Computer Science (Games) BSc(Hons)who both received the Lancia Consult Award for Excellence in Computing Placement Year and £500 each. The prize is awarded by a University of Brighton alumnus, the MD of Lancia.

Becky spent her placement year at the BBC, you can read about some of her experiences on this blog, including this post. And Arun worked for West Control Solutions, a local software company. We will be finding out more from Arun about how his placement went, soon.

Rupert Agnew Computer Science BSc(Hons) received the FDM Group Prize, and £250, for the best development project from a final year student completing either the Computer Science BSc(Hons), Computer Science (Games) BSc(Hons) or Software Engineering BSc(Hons). You can find out more about Rupert’s project on the blog, here.

Digital Games Production student, Laura Marquick was the recipient of an award from one of our accrediting bodies, the BCS, the Chartered Institute of IT Project Prize for the best project by a final year undergraduate computing student. Laura’s project explored ways to use the structure, abstraction, and discipline of programming to interpret physiological data from the human body and product unique visual effects that reflect the natural beauty of the body’s biological processes.

Our computing division has strong links with Wired Sussex, and Digital Media student, Jaime Dare, and Digital Games Production student, Scott Jarvis were the recipients of awards from Wired Sussex for the best project for a Digital Media, Digital Media Development and Digital Games Production by a final year student.

The celebrations for our graduating students continued into the afternoon with our school graduation ceremony at the Brighton Centre.

Congratulations and well done everyone!

Prize-winning ‘Home Automation using Raspberry Pi’

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Rupert Agnew, studying Computer Science BSc(Hons), has designed ‘Home Automation using Raspberry Pi’, which, among a multitude of uses, will feed your cat when you are away from home.

This final year project has won Rupert a prize from the international IT services company FDM Group.

The system uses the Internet of Things to link hardware and software devices in people’s homes.

He said: “Nowadays almost everybody has a smart phone and almost everybody has a WiFi connection in their home – but how many can control home devices securely from their phone? My project takes advantage of the low cost Pi but shields people from the complexity of programming and piecing it together.

“All peripherals connected to the Pi can be remotely controlled from a mobile, tablet or desktop computer from anywhere in the world. After logging onto the website using their credentials, the user is presented with a dashboard which allows them to interact with their home appliances – door locks, view a webcam stream, control lights, control AC mains plug.

“You can automate your kettle to turn on as you open the front door after a long day at work. When you hear the doorbell, you can view who is at your door, and let them in, all from your phone/tablet. When the temperature drops or reaches a certain temperature, you can control the boiler to meet your needs – you could even open or close a door to let a pet in or out of the house and automatically feed your pet based on a time schedule when you are away from the home.”

Waking up to sunshine

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For his final year Computer Science (Games) BSc(Hons) project, Adam Worley invented an alarm called ‘Chrono-lux’ that banishes the wake-up blues and makes mornings more enjoyable by simulating a sunrise using a smart-bulb.

Adam Worley, Computer Science (Games) BSc(Hons)

Adam says: “My project is to develop a connected Android alarm application with integration with smart devices. For many, the mornings can be a struggle as they find it difficult to wake to their alarms. By developing Chrono-lux people will be able to configure smart-alarms, these alarms will be able to trigger smart-devices and other Internet of things (IoT) devices.

“Currently there is a boom of connected devices coming to market from smart-bulbs to connected kettles and fridges; these devices allow for a level of automation and intelligent features that can be useful in day to day use. Chrono-lux intends to bring these devices together to allow for a more enjoyable morning, by simulating a sunrise using a smart-bulb. It has been shown that mimicking aspects of the day/night cycle can help to improve alertness and bring your body gradually to more natural sleep cycles.

“There are multiple uses of lighting in use today such as morning alarm clocks that have built in lighting to simulate the sunrise or the use of mood lighting on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, intended to tune the passengers to their destination time-zone to reduce jet-lag and fatigue. However currently there are very few Android apps that utilise these smart-devices. Initially my application will work with Philips Hue bulbs, with the ability to be extended for use with other smart-bulbs and devices such as kettles, coffee machines and even toasters.”