As an engineering student, research has unquestionably been the most important and

rewarding element of my undergraduate education. Committing to the world of scientific

research has instilled an investigative mindset in me, which has awakened the latent passion
for the scientific process of the world of engineering.

My first and only research started as a sophomore in the lab of Dr. Ziqian Dong at the
University of New York Institute of Technology of Electronics and Computer Engineering. I
was working on the research project of designing an “OBJECT DETECTION AND COLLISION
AVOIDANCE USING MOTION SENSOR AND GYROSCOPE SENSORS FOR AN AUTONOMOUS
QUADROCOPTER.” Nowadays quadcopters are used in many industries. The purpose of our
design was for the quadcopters would be able to pick up an object in a warehouse and keep
in the exact location by using color codes. At the same time, it would also be able to avoid
collisions if something comes in its way.

In the obstacle detection module, redundant ultrasonic sensors are used to increase
detection resolution and sensor data reliability. The gyroscope was used to balance the
quadcopter along with its goods that it would be carrying. All these were integrated with a
raspberry pie-3 processor. The color code was also detected using the camera mounted on
the raspberry-pie processor.

The performance of the obstacle detection along with the color detection was evaluated.
Under good circumstances, the system was capable to reproduce its environment with an
accuracy of few centimeters. Furthermore, the system is capable to detect a wall through
smoke. The system is operational and was capable to avoid obstacles. Still, the system lacks
some drawbacks since the ultrasonic sensors only measured distances up to about 250cm
reliably.