College of Computing

Music from stars? One of the country’s fastest supercomputers? Or perhaps four minutes of computational inspiration? The College of Computing has all of these and more, as for the second straight year its Holiday Gift Guide decks the halls with some of the more inspired, ambitious and definitely digital “gifts” ever placed under the virtual tree. Launched in 2011 to international acclaim, the Holiday Gift Guide is fast becoming a yuletide staple around the College’s halls, as faculty and student “elves” spend the year busily hammering together parallel algorithms and 50-amp servos in anticipation of the Big Day.

 “At Georgia Tech, we truly believe that computing is making the world a better place, so what better time of year to share some of our more exciting and beneficial research projects?” said Dean Zvi Galil. “When you take beloved holiday traditions, and you add a layer of computation, they become so much more. In this case, they become a bit funnier. Or at least we hope so.”

What is it?
 A brand new mobile gaming experience using augmented reality that will make you the hit of the holiday party and create app envy among your friends. NerdHerder is a motion-controlled puzzle game where you hover your iOS or Android device over an easy-to-print board and watch as characters come to life on the screen. Use the device as a carrot-and-stick to tempt or terrify your on-screen nerds to accomplish tasks and become the ultimate IT office administrator.

Who’s it for?
New tablet owners looking for street cred. App-starved smartphone users who haven’t discovered augmented reality. Those seeking to hone their skills to help colleagues avoid managers, deal with annoying paperwork, overcome their fear of sports, or chase down donuts, coffee and techie toys.

How much does it cost?
Free in the App Store or Google Play. Ten cents’ worth of paper and color toner to print the board.

Santa’s #1 elves
Vu Ha, Sam Mendenhall, Yan Xu, Paul Tillery (Savannah College of Art and Design), and Josh Cohen (Berklee College of Music). Advised by Blair MacIntyre, John Sharp and Tony Tseng. 

What is it?
Basically, the key to world peace. Created through our Computing for Good (C4G) service initiative, C4G BLIS (Basic Laboratory Information System) is open-source software that tracks patient specimens and laboratory results. Don’t see the connection yet? Well, take a look at the photo at left. Is that any way to track blood samples in the 21st century? BLIS digitizes paper records cheaply and intuitively, resulting in a sustainable program that tracks specimens, results and workflow. Improved efficiency=better public health. Better public health=happy people. Happy people=world peace. See it now? Mind=blown.

Who’s it for?
Aside from anyone with an altruistic bent, BLIS is especially good for those seeking a cost-effective medical data tracking system that works on limited resources and requires virtually no training.

How much does it cost?
Nothing! World peace is so its own reward.

From the workshop of:
Santosh Vempala, Naomi Chopra, Robert Thackston, Ruban Monu, Hiral Modi, Akshay Phalnikar, Amol Shintre

What is it?
Four minutes and 30 seconds of cinematic gold. Less Transformers and more WALL-E, this short film about a girl and her robot is a touching commentary on all that computing is … and more. For some it will strike a sentimental chord, while others may be inspired to chase a new dream. But all will see the wow and the wonder in what we do. Oh, and did we mention that it has robots?

Who’s it for?
This film is rated “CS” for all past, present and future Computing Superstars … and anyone who knows one.

How much does it cost?
Free for your viewing pleasure. No outrageous movie theater prices, and you don’t have to fly to Cannes to see it (although our director was recently screened there!). Popcorn is optional.

From the workshop of:
Connie Chen and her magical movie-making crew.

What is it? 
Only the most powerful GPU supercomputer dedicated to NSF scientific research. Keeneland can do circles around your local cloud cluster; it delivers sustained performance of over a quarter of a PetaFLOP (one quadrillion calculations per second). It runs on a sweet peak 615 teraflop HP Proliant SL250-based computer, pimped out with 264 nodes, each having two Intel Sandy Bridge processors and three NVIDIA M2090 GPU accelerators for blazing speed, 32 GB of host memory that provide tableside service and a Mellanox InfiniBand FDR interconnection network. All that's missing are cup holders.

Who’s it for? 
Scientists dedicated to fighting world hunger, curing cancer, achieving faster-than-light manned space travel, and fixing mass transit systems. Also Keeneland’s crib is a great place to lose those last pesky 10 pounds (the machine runs at a sultry 120 degrees Fahrenheit).

How much does it cost? 
Just in time for the holidays, the Keeneland Full Scale System will cost you (and your children) only their whole lifetime earnings, plus tax (MSRP around $7 million).

From the workshop of:
Jeffrey Vetter

What is it?
Not to be confused with the reindeer’s distant cousin the moose, this cute little acronym packs a lot of meaning into four letters. A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course, and the word is quickly becoming part of the higher education lexicon. Brought to you by some of the best minds in the world, including the College of Computing’s own professors, MOOCs are the new gift that keeps on giving. Each course provides lifelong learning on a variety of engaging topics—the most engaging, of course, being computational investing, health informatics, computational photography, and software-defined networking.

Who’s it for?
MOOCs offer something for everyone on your gift list. You can help that special someone improve his resume, advance her career, or just learn for the sake of learning. Primer on Greek mythology, anyone?

How much does it cost?
You can give the gift of knowledge without cracking open the piggy bank. All of Georgia Tech’s MOOCS are available free online at Coursera, and more courses will be added soon.

From the workshop of:
Tucker Balch, Mark Braunstein, Irfan Essa, Nick Feamster and everyone at C21U

What is it?
A cyber-disguise! Search engines like to peer into your search history and cookie jar to deliver personalized search results. So … what’s the problem? Some folks aren’t crazy about the “filter bubble” this creates. You can fool the almighty Google with this nifty little Chrome plugin that simulates a search query from multiple locations around the world. Beat the bubble with Bobble!

Who’s it for?
The digital libertarian in the family who has never gotten over the fact that networked computers need IP addresses. “Search up, Johnny! They’ll never find you with this.”

How much does it cost?
Freeness. Which is awesome. Just visit the Chrome store to make it happen.

From the workshop of:
Xinyu Xing.

What is it?
Let’s face it, touchscreens are on everything from exercise machines to cars, but they can be extremely difficult to navigate for the estimated 22 million American adults with vision loss. No need to fear, BrailleTouch is here. This revolutionary app makes eyes-free texting a breeze by turning your phone into a Braille keyboard.

Who’s it for?
In addition to being a critical app for visually impaired smartphone users, BrailleTouch is perfect for that coworker who can’t seem to peel their eyes from their phone during meetings or that clumsy friend who insists on walking while texting. Y’know, like this person. Or this one. Or especially this one.

How much does it cost?
BrailleTouch will be available in the iTunes App Store in early 2013.  Don’t worry: you can sign up here to be notified as soon as it is available.

From the workshop of:
Caleb Southern, James Clawson, Brian Frey, Gregory Abowd, Mario Romero

What is it?
Well, we’re still coming up with the right name for it. Tech transfer lab? Sort of, but much more. Incubator? No, it's the opposite of that. Startup accelerator? Maybe, but really Flashpoint is about a new approach to doing a startup, by viewing startup discovery as a scientific problem, with experimentally testable hypotheses for its business model. Participation is open to anyone, not just Georgia Tech students, faculty or alumni, and Flashpoint is planning a new, nine-month sequence with two phases, the first to get to a "flashpoint" and then the second to flash-forward.  

Who’s it for?
Perfect for the venture capitalist or the entrepreneur in your family looking to found the next great startups. Think you’ve got what it takes? Flashpoint is currently reviewing applications for the next cohort, set to start this winter.

How much does it cost?
Flashpoint funds you, so just be ready to roll. (VCs and angel investors, wiring instructions available by request.)

From the workshop of:
Merrick Furst

What is it?
Some musicians turn into stars. Our Sonification Lab turns stars into musicians. SonLab creates musical melodies based on celestial bodies thousands of light years from Earth. The group’s resume already includes a tune used at the beginning of “Love and the Human Outreach” by reggae/rock band Echo Movement. If stars are too out there, SonLab also converts numerical data from stock markets, elections and weather into sounds.

Who’s it for?
Anyone on the Dark Side of the Moon, Across the Universe, during the Age of Aquarius. Or if you are Major Tom.

How much does it cost?
SonLab is constantly listening for new, creative projects. Have your people call our people.

From the workshop of:
Bruce Walker, Riley Winton

What is it?
Do you need to be the center of attention? Or better yet, do you need to prove it? This is the fastest algorithm on the market for determining the betweenness centrality of a streaming graph. For those outside your circle of knowledge, tell ‘em that it’s software that proves who is the most influential person in a social graph, such as Twitter. It identifies the most connected person in a computational community.

Who’s it for?
Besides you or your favorite narcissist? Your micro-managing boss always trying to prove they’re the person most in touch with everyone; the gatekeeper all information must flow through to ensure success. Also great for advertisers to determine the most influential spokesperson to push new products.

How much does it cost?
Free open-source software, not that it matters. Admit it: if the universe truly revolves around you, no price is too high.

From the workshop of:
David Bader

What is it?
Forget what you know about summer camp, kids. The future Mark Zuckerbergs get hands-on experience today in building robots, creating video games, designing apps, and cultivating cool computer coding capabilities (whew, say that three times fast). Designed to capture the imagination of young computer scientists and break the intolerable boredom associated with summer vacations – beaches, pools, camping, etc.

Who’s it for?
Campers of just about every age from the 4th to the 12th grade. Just be sure to get your parents’ permission.

How much does it cost?
Depends on the camp. Visit the College of Computing’s Institute for Computing Education for more info.

From the workshop of:
The College of Computing’s Office of Outreach, Enrollment and Community.

What is it?
His real name is Golem Krang. He’s six feet tall and spends his days tethered to a gantry, guarding the Humanoids Lab like some combination Rottweiler-Optimus Prime. He may boast impressive size and strength, but Krang is a global force for good. And he’ll soon be tricked out with algorithms that will allow him to select objects in his environment to use as tools. LIKE A CHAINSAW.

Who’s it for?
Could your local football team use some help on the O-line? We kid. Actually Krang would be a great addition to your local first responders, who one day might deploy him to save people trapped inside a burning building. AND THEN KICK IT DOWN.

How much does it cost?
Golem Krang, alas, is not for sale. But if you care to send money, HE WILL EAT IT.

From the workshop of:
Mike Stilman.

We hope our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide brought a smile to your face. If we can send you more information about any of these projects, please don’t hesitate to email the College’s communications [at] cc [dot] gatech [dot] edu (Office of Communications).

And, if you’d like to help make next year’s guide just as special by supporting the College’s research, just click here for information on how to give.

Happy Holidays!