University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies
I did drone research at the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies where I, under the supervision of aerospace master’s student Ji Tong Chen, explored the hypothesis that quadrotor drones with slung payloads can effectively and timely transport turtles off roads, ensuring their safe removal from traffic pathways.
Here's a photo of the drone turtle assister I was working on:
I had to write a research proposal for my project and have lots of back-and-forth with my supervisor to flesh out the idea. You can check out the proposal here.
It was honestly shocking to see how much smaller post-undergrad is than undergrad. Like, I already knew that, but it’s still so tiny. I’m a relatively social person so I got to know the 10 people in the lab very fast, and that was just everyone.
The style of working at UTIAS was a lot of “go figure stuff out and find me if you need help.” That was because Ji Tong had his own thesis he was working on. Honestly it was a pretty meditative deep-work experience.
I'd take the train and bus for 2 hours one-way to Vaughan to get to the UTIAS lab. Some nights I'd get started on my way home as late as 7pm. Yet I'm very grateful for every single day that I got to have a little taste of academia at UTIAS.
I highly recommend the ARC program to high school students interested in tech. Robotics is really cool and worth trying out for even the most vehemently software-focused students. I think it's especially great to do in grade 10/11 so you can do internships in grade 12.
Check it out: https://flight.utias.utoronto.ca/index.php/aerial-robotics-club/joining-arc
