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Modeling cognitive Robobrawl: New device for ear neuroscience with the University’s robot infection diagnosis ‘cyberslug’ showdown and treatment PG 4 PG 8 PG 12 Monday - Friday: 10:45am - 4:30pm 911 W. Springfield Ave, Apt 1 • Urbana, IL 61801 217-344-3008 Family owned since 1969

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We are dedicated to providing quality student housing with a personal touch. www.baileyapartments.com | [email protected] 3 TECHNOSTAFF TABLE OF CONTENTS Technograph editor Molly Zupan Modeling cognitive neuroscience Assistant Technograph editor with the ‘Cyberslug’ Melissa Niemiec Editor-in-Chief Abby Paeth PAGE 4, 5 Managing editors Jessica Bursztynsky When it comes to inspiring future Rachael Bolek women engineers, UI doesn’t play Bercham Kamber games Designer editors Cindy Om PAGE 7 Toni Pantone Robobrawl: the University’s largest Copy chief Ella Schindler robot showdown Assistant copy chief Emily Ward PAGE 8, 9 Writers Yoav Margalit University engineers create product

Melissa Niemiec m/km Zack Fishman x1000r/min F E to combat distracted driving in H Julie Kang C autonomous vehicles Arden Youn PAGE 10, 11 Co-publishers Kit Donahue New device for ear infection Melissa Pasco diagnosis and treatment Contact (217) 337-8350 [email protected] PAGE 12, 13 Technograph 512 E. Green St., 3rd floor University student develops Champaign, IL 61820 handheld body composition tracker AN ILLINI MEDIA MEDIA PUBLICATION © 2018 PAGE 14, 15

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217-344-0394 advantageproperties.com 4 Modeling cognitive neuroscience with the 'Cyberslug' BY YOAV MARGALIT | TECHNOGRAPH WRITER

ife is weird. There’s plenty in life that intelligent, but simply approximates natural sea slug based on the idea that all deci- seems simple to explain, but the fur- functions,” Gillette said. “We were testing sions are a web of cost-benefit analyses. By ther down one looks, the more weird- whether the relations we found in the animal working from this idea, the project managed Lness one finds. Explaining or understanding could actually explain its foraging behav- to produce results that were identical to the life is something that’s difficult at best and ior.” behavior of the original organism, which has impossibly intricate at worst. Asking, “Do Trying to predict how an animal, even one huge implications. you understand this?” is best answered with as relatively simple as a sea slug, is tremen- This project represents an advancement a demonstration, and recently at the Univer- dously complex, is where the premise of the that applies not only to sea slugs, but also sity, in style. experiment really comes into focus. to much of the living world. Encountering Dubbed the Cyberslug, a program was Dr. Jeffrey Brown is a research assistant, something new, choosing an appropriate developed that accurately reacts to simu- professor and the director of M-1 Neurosci- response and repeating the process is a lated stimuli in much the same way as the ence, and he also helped make Cyberslug cycle that exists throughout nature, and organism it was modeled after. The original happen. the Cyberslug demonstrates real progress creature is a small predator that roams the “One of the central hypotheses driving toward understanding that cycle. ocean floor: Pleurobranchaea californica, our work has been that decision represents “I think one of the most important conclu- commonly known as a sea slug. the moment-to-moment integration of sen- sions to be gleaned from the work on Cy- Professor Rhanor Gillette specializes sory input, physiological state (e.g., hunger, berslug, and the work of the Gillette group in molecular and integrative physiology reproductive status), and learning/memory, more broadly, is that foraging decisions and and spearheaded the project to create and that the core neural infrastructure sup- other elementary decision-making behavior Cyberslug. His motivations are not to be porting these functions and their integra- necessary for survival are most likely inte- confused with trying to create an artificial tion has, to some extent, been conserved grated in similar manners across the brains intelligence, however. His goal was entirely over evolutionary history,” Brown said in an of different animals, including our own, different. email. representing hundreds of millions of years “It is natural intelligence that is my In this way, the Cyberslug tried and of evolution,” Brown said. interest. Artificial intelligence is not really succeeded in predicting the behavior of a This idea can be applied to almost any 5

living being. If projects like Cyberslug can about organic life. other students from the University for this teach about the basic motivations behind Ekaterina Gribkova is in the second breakthrough. decisions, then more complex decisions and year of her Ph.D. in neuroscience and has “Cyberslug has been a highly collab- actions could potentially be built from that also contributed to the project. Working on orative project; at the moment, there are foundation. Cyberslug’s program intrigued her, as she both undergraduate and graduate students Despite the gulf in complexity between a noticed that even relatively mild alterations working to expand the simulation in all sorts sea slug and a human being, there is enor- could produce complex reactions from the of novel manners,” Brown said. mous room to expand this project’s scope. synthetic creature she was working on. It seems everything in the world can be “Cyberslug represents a novel bottom-up “Using the Cyberslug program and its broken down. Bodies break into cells, which approach to artificial intelligence, drawing core circuitry, we are able to add relatively break into molecules, which can still be on a very simple nervous system capable simple circuits to generate more complex divided. At what point can one say that one of generating only very simple behavior, behaviors in the virtual slug, just like we can build back up? When can researchers but with the intrinsic capacity to support have done with the simple sociality and say they have found the building blocks of the grafting of increasingly complex, even addiction models,” Gribkova said. their field? uniquely human behaviors,” Brown said. Gribkova’s interest is well-founded. These questions are not easy to ask, and Working with the building blocks that “I think research of this nature can lead to finding approximate answers to them is Cyberslug provides, it isn’t hard to imag- the creation of more complex animal models even more difficult. In the case of Cyberslug, ine more complicated minds being cre- and will also allow us to reproduce the de- however, there is an inspiring leap forward in ated from the same mold. Thinking about velopments that occurred in the evolution of understanding how life goes about living. artificial intelligences in this way provides simple to complex animals,” Gribkova said. an approach toward modeling that is more Rhanor, Brown and Gribkova worked with [email protected]

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undreds of teenage girls gather at the age who shared those interests. can support about 100 girls. Since space University each summer. Some are ap- Creating this sense of community within is limited, girls looking to participate in H prehensive, others raring to go as they a male-dominated field is important, as GAMES do need to apply. The free appli- look forward to the activities of the week. young women can often feel alone in areas cation asks for GPA, grades specifically in Counselors watch over them, ready to see relating to math and science. math and science courses and a teacher the girls learn and grow. “Sometimes, they have that stigma that recommendation. A person reading this might immedi- math and science are for boys,” said Sahid When reviewing applications, the ately think cheerleading camp, but no, this Lines, Women in Engineering outreach GAMES staff also considers factors such as takes place on Bardeen Quad. These girls coordinator.“Or they’re interested in the circumstances a student comes from are here to learn what it means to be an doing something to help the community and financial need. GAMES costs $1,000 for engineer. or the world, and yet somehow they don’t the week, but scholarships are available. Girls’ Adventures in Mathematics, En- understand that they can do that through Women in college who were inspired by gineering and Science is a camp for girls engineering.” their experiences by GAMES, or who just in grades 9-12, created and facilitated by With women making up only 22 percent want to affect high school students’ college Women in Engineering. The purpose of of students in the College of Engineering experience, can participate in GAMES as the camp is to introduce engineering to as of fall 2017, removing stereotypes about counselors. young women through hands-on activities engineering and getting more women Helgren notes Women in Engineering and classroom lectures in hopes they will interested in the field is a main goal for looks for women who are outgoing, are be inspired to pursue engineering during GAMES facilitators. comfortable working within a team and their college years. GAMES is separated into seven differ- “who have a passion for extending the “Through multiple studies, it has been ent camps, each focusing on a different interests that they have in their own fields shown that girls are equally as interested in aspect of engineering, such as computer towards future engineers.” Driven by a de- science when they’re younger, but through engineering or bioengineering. Campers sire to spread the inspiration, Sanders was society and school, a lot of times they get attend classes during the day and do fun a GAMES counselor for three years. disinterested,” said Will Helgren, junior in community building activities in the eve- “In college, I’ve had experiences where I LAS. Helgren is the student coordinator for ning. Some curricula include field trips. was not considered smart enough because GAMES and is in charge of hiring camp Sanders detailed an experience she had I was a woman in engineering, and I want counselors. at GAMES, describing a project where she to make sure that doesn’t happen to any GAMES is especially useful for students was tasked to build a boat completely out of these girls,” Sanders said. “I want them whose high schools do not offer engineer- of cardboard. The campers then tested out to know they are smart enough and 100 ing-based classes. Many schools do not their creations in a pool, and the boat that percent capable.” have the funding to produce the curriculum held up the best was crowned the winner. needed for more technically advanced However, from surveys the girls complet- [email protected] subjects. ed at the end of camp, it would seem that “I was never exposed to the academic the other young women they got to meet side of engineering, and so going to this and interact with had the largest impact camp gave me an inside view of what it was on the campers. all about,” said Elizabeth Sanders, senior “It’s important for them to realize in Engineering and former camper. “It there’s this whole community of broadened my horizons when picking a women that are also interested major later.” in math and science,” Lines Sanders participated in GAMES as a said. middle schooler and returned as a camp Each camp is a week counselor in college. She emphasized how long and her experiences helped her explore many aspects of engineering, leading her to ultimately finding her passion for chemi- cal engineering. Sanders also said the camp made her feel “empowered” as a young woman interested in math and sci- ence; it was comforting to meet so many other girls her 8 9

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ichael Kokkines, freshman in Engi- geared up and ready to fight, the competi- tition, as loose wiring in “Botman” led to neering and captain of the iRobotics tors were brought to tents around the arena, losses in both of its matches. $1,000 sign on bonus M freshman team, led the building and a square metal stage with sides 15-feet long Meanwhile, Kokkines’ “Space Jam” took designing of the horizontal spinner, “Space and the word “Robobrawl” inscribed in an early loss to the freshman team, but it for all 3 & 4 Jam.’” bright orange and blue paint. managed to pull off one win in the loser’s in Engineering and livestream- teammates and alumni, while “We used a horizontal bar that spins really The aim of each one-on-one battle was to bracket before falling to the bot that would er for the Robobrawl. “So we Jew said the “intense battles” Bedroom Apartments fast,” Kokkines said. “And around that, we immobilize the opposing bot. Some matches win the entire tournament: “Wall-F.” Built by declared it the unofficial winner and hands-on excitement could built a square frame with the bar in the front.” ended in battlebots flailing on their backs, an iRobotics alumnus, the agile wedgebot of everything last year.” inspire children to develop an The wiring and wheels were positioned while others created explosions of metal employed its winning strategy of flipping After inexplicably pinning interest in engineering. in the back of the bot, protected by a steel parts scattering around the protective walls opponents before pinning them against and defeating an unfortunate As for the tournament itself, frame to minimize damage. and ceiling. the arena wall on their side, preventing all competitor this year, the fan’s Robobrawl will be doubling Meanwhile, Robobrawl coordinator, junior Between matches, teams had to quickly movement. reign finally came to an end its number of entries to 32 406 E. GREEN ST. team captain and repair the damage their bots sustained, But during a filler match, “Space Jam” when the freshman team oblit- battlebots next year, with more CHAMPAIGN, IL, 61820 junior in Engineer- and even winners had to be concerned scored its — arguably — most important vic- erated it into plastic shards, outside universities expected to ing Tor Shepherd about their preparedness for the upcom- tory against a foe notorious in the iRobotics to the joy of the onlooking participate. Shepherd encour- kept busy with his ing match. circle: a simple, unpowered fan. audience. ages more students to get in- two positions. When “Even if you win your fight, you could Last year, the home appliance was set up “People have had some volved with the growing event. not overseeing the still be so badly damaged that you cannot to be destroyed by previously eliminated trouble dealing with the fan, “We’re always looking for management and compete in your next battle,” Shepherd battlebots between tournament matches for but we were able to destroy it,” more people to help out with execution of the com- said. “Some people get away with just one entertainment, but an unexpected problem Kokkines said. the competition or the robots,” petition, Shepherd wire getting unplugged and some people soon came up. Despite not winning their Shepherd said. “They can just helped the juniors have their entire robot in shreds.” “For some reason, no own tournament, University join iRobotics, and as soon as construct “Botman,” Shepherd and the junior team ran into bot could actually destroy students involved in Robo- the semester starts, you can get a vertical spinner technical problems during the compe- it,” sais Nick Jew, senior brawl enjoyed the experience right into it and start building with a large serrated the competition had to offer. robots.” wheel mounted on an Kokkines praised the close armored base. relationships he formed with [email protected] With bots 10 University engineers create product to combat distracted driving in autonomous vehicles BY JULIE KANG | TECHNOGRAPH WRITER

self-driving Uber car struck selected to work with DFA. interactive digital module located in the and killed a woman last month, This year’s sponsor, Fiat Chrysler Au- center, which aims to limit distraction A shedding light on a serious and tomobiles, challenged students to work in autonomous vehicles. This module prominent issue regarding autonomous with autonomous vehicles. Maheshwari connects to the user’s phone through vehicles. As part of a project facilitated and his team focused on distracted driv- Bluetooth, allowing the driver to use the by Design for America, a team of engi- ing, as it is an issue that will only grow as device while remaining attentive. neers at the University created a module autonomous cars become more popular “We wanted to come up with a solution that addresses the dangers of distracted in the market and on the streets. that allows the driver to do what they driving in autonomous cars. Maheshwari said there is a misconcep- want to do — that’s why people invest DFA is a national student-led organi- tion that autonomous cars are flawless in autonomous cars — but at the same zation that aims to build products and to and safe. time be engaged just enough so that you develop solutions that solve real-world There is a misunderstanding in the can assume control of the car as soon as problems. Every year, DFA picks a spon- functionality of the autonomous vehicle. something happens,” Maheshwari said. sor and sends out a chosen prompt to the The self-driving cars currently in the Having a phone or interface on the 38 active DFA organizations on college market are not completely autonomous steering wheel reduces re-engagement campuses in the United States. and still require the attention of passen- time by about 0.3 seconds. It might seem Of the many applications, five are gers and the driver. Future developments trivial, but Maheshwari’s team found, in selected to work with DFA and the spon- may lead to truly autonomous vehicles, research papers and through University sor to develop a solution to the prompt. but for now, drivers must remain atten- professors, that even a timespan of 0.1 Junior in Engineering Shrey Maheshwari tive. seconds is enough for a car to move 8 is the project leader of his team from Maheshwari and his team created feet forward. the University, which was one of the five “LookUp!,” a steering wheel with an “Reducing the re-engagement time by

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H 0.3 seconds means we will reduce the trip to Nationals, which were held on team members had various ideas for the C distance of the car by 24 feet,” Mahesh- Feb. 1-2 at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles project and struggled to agree on one. wari said, “which is a matter of life and headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. “It was an interdisciplinary team. death on the highways.” Aayushi added that because the There were different majors, which Maheshwari said the “LookUp!” team University is relatively far away from meant different ways of thinking,” Kieran particularly took user behaviors into large towns and cities, it is important that said. consideration; it accepted that people students think about what is happening Kieran said one significant component are likely to use their phones in the car, in the world outside of campus. of the project was to bring awareness despite dangers of autonomous vehicles. “This project acts as a bridge between to the issue of distracted driving. By “LookUp!” is different from other pro- our campus and the real world,” Aayushi presenting “LookUp!” to FCA, his team grams that aim to lessen distracted driv- said. emphasized the importance of localizing ing. While other programs solely prevent Creating “LookUp!” was not complete- attention in autonomous vehicles. drivers from using their phones in cars, ly smooth, however. Junior in LAS Kieran “The real issue is the gap between the “LookUp!” promotes safer driving habits. Patel said the team had several challeng- attention and the control of the driver,” Aayushi Patel, sophomore in LAS and es during development, such as figur- Kieran said. team media coordinator, created the logo ing out dimensions and designing the for the team and documented the team’s steering wheel. In the beginning stages, [email protected]

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www.law.northwestern.edu/msl 12 Beckman Institute spin-out develops transformative imaging device for ear infection diagnosis and treatment

BY MOLLY ZUPAN | TECHNOGRAPH EDITOR

hotoniCare, which developed at the such sophisticated tools. combination of a light and a magnifying University’s Beckman Institute for Shelton, Boppart and Ryan Nolan, glass, can only see the surface of the ear- P Advanced Science and Technolo- co-founder and director of clinical de- drum, not what’s going on behind it. The gy, was announced as the winner of the velopment, lead the development, which middle ear is where the disease resides. 2018 SPIE Startup Challenge on Jan. 31, in has been an ongoing project for about a “Our device sends light into the ear San Francisco, California. decade. and collects reflections of light that come Ear infections affect 4 out of 5 children. Both Shelton and Nolan said ear infec- back. We can build an image from those PhotoniCare has created the first non-inva- tions have significantly affected the health reflections. The light we use can penetrate sive method to accurately diagnose them. of their children. This inspired them to im- through the tympanic membrane, and reach As winner of the best pitch, PhotoniCare prove the diagnostic techniques, manage- the middle ear,” Boppart said. was awarded a $10,000 cash prize in addi- ment and treatment of ear infections. Through the advanced imaging system, tion to a week-long entrepreneur bootcamp “Primary care physicians have roughly the team has also discovered a biofilm in training, numerous promotion opportunities a 50 percent success rate at diagnosing the ear, which is a sticky, adherent sub- and reimbursement for travel expenses, an ear infection. It’s essentially a coin toss. stance that can trap bacteria. According to according to an article from PhotoniCare’s Otolaryngologists, or specialists in the ear, Boppart, standard ear infection antibiot- official website titled, “PhotoniCare Wins nose and throat, have roughly an 80 percent ics do not kill these bacteria, so they can First Place in 2018 SPIE Startup Challenge.” success rate,” Boppart said. continue to develop resistance to it. In this PhotoniCare developed the first-ever Doctors are frequently forced to make portable device with the ability to capture evaluations based on limited information. images of the middle ear. This tool may Misdiagnosis is common, leading to poor have the power to revolutionize the diag- decisions about antibiotic prescription and nosis and treatment of ear infections, which surgery. affect more than 90 percent of children. Current diagnostic techniques for “We think what we’re doing is really ear infections are unreliable and going to change the way that ear infections often inaccurate, which has caused are diagnosed, monitored and treated,” said ear infections to become the most Stephen Boppart, head of the Biophotonics over-prescribed disease in the nation, Imaging Laboratory at the Beckman Insti- said Boppart. tute, whose research focuses on Biomedical “The problem is, ear infections form Imaging, Bioengineering and Acoustics. in the middle ear, behind the ear- “We’re really interested in providing drum, which is like tissue paper in better information at the frontlines of terms of its transparency; when health care,” said Ryan Shelton, CEO and you hold up a piece of tis- co-founder. sue paper, you can only The SPIE Startup Challenge is held see so much through annually at Photonics West, the world’s most it,” Boppart said. comprehensive technical conference and Otoscopes, exhibition spanning biophotonics for brain which research and healthcare, lasers for research are a and advanced manufacturing, sensors and camera systems, imagining and displays and more. The team also received a $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health eight years ago, which has allowed them to develop 13

case a surgery is the best option for recov- dure, it often takes a year or more to reach “Our device is about the size of a small ery. the intervention. During this time, the child’s briefcase. It is portable and can also hang on “This is the first time that this biofilm has hearing is affected, impacting the child’s a wall,” Nolan said. been visible non-invasively. In the past, it learning abilities and development,” Shelton Shelton and Nolan are located at En- was only visible through a surgical pro- said. “We’re really trying to streamline that terprise Works in Research Park at the cedure,” Boppart said. “With our device, process with better diagnosis.” University and are in the process of fully doctors will be able to determine how es- This surgery is the No. 1 surgery children commercializing their product. Shelton, tablished the ear infection really is, by also endure under anesthesia, which is often a postdoctoral researcher, and Nolan, an looking at the biofilm.” risky, so PhotoniCare may help more health imaging specialist, worked with Boppart in According to Boppart, about 7 percent complications than expected. his lab before deciding to begin a startup of children will have this surgery; with this At the Beckman Institute, Boppart and his company with the device. device, that percentage may drop because team developed early prototypes of this de- PhotoniCare is near the end of its devel- the information collected from the images vice, which was originally about the size of opment and is expecting to have the product will be enough to decide whether surgery a mini refrigerator, attached to a probe that on the market by the beginning of 2019, said or an antibiotic is needed to treat the ear looks like a otoscope, but with a camera. The Nolan. infection. system PhotoniCare has built is a smaller, “Although tube surgery is a great proce- simpler and cheaper version of this. [email protected]

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will soon be easier to track body composition and to check it frequently. This Users are instructed to pinch circular elec- mass at home, thanks to Doug- is a great tool for those who can’t visit the trical nodes on the device to send electrical IT lass Lee, senior in business and doctor often or for those who like to stay up- currents through their fingertips. This trans- co-founder of the company One Softdigm. to-date on their health. mission of electricity begins the measure- They have developed a handheld device “The only technology available for ment process. that can measure body composition. Their measuring this is through BIA (Bioelectrical “The body’s cells create friction called work was driven by current health issues and Impedance Analysis), so that’s why we came impedance, so it loses the voltage as it goes trends in the U.S. up with this portable device,” Lee said. through the body. Whatever voltage is left re- On average, 1 of 3 people in the U.S. are One SoftDigm’s inspiration stemmed from turns to the device and the calculations come obese and 60 percent are considered over- the Korean government’s request. In Korea, back accordingly,” Lee said. weight. the government releases an annual proposal These calculations and results are then The device, called One SmartDiet, allows that specifies needed developments in dif- viewable on the mobile app. users to accurately and easily measure their ferent fields. Lee, with interests in engineer- According to the Doylestown Hospital, body composition at home or on-the-go. ing and business, took the initiative to start BIA is used with a low level, imperceptible Before One SmartDiet was created, working on an on-the-go, easy-to-use body electrical current. This flow is affected by the only tool capable of measuring body composition measurement device. the water content within the body and the composition accurately was limited to those “We made the project into a product that measurement comes from how the signal is available in hospitals and clinics. people can use easily,” Lee said. impeded through tissue. These devices are usually too expensive or Lee began working on this project in 2015, “Tissues that contain large amounts of fluid too bulky for regular household use. when the proposal was released. and electrolytes, such as blood, have high The device is paired with a free mobile conductivity, but fat and bone slow the signal app, which stores the data collected. One One SmartDiet down,” according to an article published SmartDiet allows users to track their body One SmartDiet is a device that uses BIA. by Doylestown Health, titled, “Bio-Electri-

ONE-THIRD OF PEOPLE IN THE U.S. ARE OBESE 15 cal Impedance Analysis (BIA)- Body Mass Analysis.” The results provide an estimate of the body fat based on the water in the body. “The problem that we are focused on solv- ing is that one in three people are considered overweight,” Lee said. “One of the main prob- lems is that a lot of people are misinformed on how to stay healthy. From our point of view, being healthy is not about how much you weigh, but your body composition.” One SmartDiet has already been released and is available for purchase in the U.S., Korea and the Netherlands. One SoftDigm has sold over 3,000 units worldwide. In addition to One SmartDiet, Lee and his associates have designed another product that will take this technology to another level. It will be launched in April and is called Fitrus.

The next level PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUNG-SEO YOUN The Fitrus device includes all of the fea- One SmartDiet is a hand-held, portable device with the ability to accurately measure body com- position within seconds. tures of the One SmartDiet device and more. These additional features enable the de- Using BIA, Fitrus measures the user’s body Jose, California, in hopes of continuing and vice to measure heart rate, skin temperature, composition, but also includes electrical strengthening the success of One SoftDigm’s oxygen saturation, stress index, caloric intake engineering and personal consumption products. and step counts. expenditure technology. Lee recently moved to Silicon Valley in San [email protected]

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