To further develop our research for the GLIST girls' project, a notification system that can remind elders to take their medication by receiving a call or text, we decided to go on a field trip and tour some of the most innovative and technologically advanced areas of Philadelphia. We also thought it would be very inspirational for more project ideas!

The ExCITe (Expressive & Creative Interaction Technologies) Center at Drexel University is the location of many tech labs with robots, wearable technology, video game design, and music. We were able to learn about a humanoid named Hubo from Korea and saw it recognize and dance to disco music and do the chicken dance. It was quite fun to see! And before that, we played on one of the coolest pianos in the world; the Magnetic Resonator Piano (MRP). This piano uses electromagnets to add several other keyboard techniques that no ordinary acoustic piano can do.
In addition to that, we also got to see the Shima Seiki lab. This lab uses thin, strong material and sophisticated machines to manufacture strong, sensor-embedded fabric that can be used to create the most revolutionary wearable technology, like a phone charging dress or an exoskeletal glove!
The last lab we visited at the ExCITe Center was the Entrepreneurial Game Studio (EGS). EGS creates video games that help teach kids computer science. They also created the "World's Largest Architectural Video Game Display" by taking the lighting system from the Cira Centre and turning them into an interface for the video games, Pong and Tetris. How cool is that?!

Within the GRASP (General Robotics, Automation, Sensing, and Perception) Lab, we toured through the Kumar, Koditcheck, Modular and Rehabilitation Robotics Labs. We were able to see quadrotors interact with each other, modular robots attach and detach from each other, rehabilitation robots sensing the location of cups or glasses and picking them up, then placing them back down, robots that could imitate the movements of insects like cockroaches, and play with the humanoids competing in the RoboCup. Everything done in that lab is quite remarkable!

Last, but definitely not least, we had the opportunity to speak with the CEOs of tech companies, Fitly and ROAR for Good. Anthony Ortiz, the founder of Fitly, demonstrated the company's product, SmartPlate. SmartPlate is a plate that uses computer vision to recognize the type of food placed on the plate and has a scale to measure the food's weight as well. Based off of this data, SmartPlate can give the eater nutritional information on their meal. Pretty amazing, huh?
Yasmine Mustafa, the founder of ROAR For Good, spoke to us about her product: a jewelry piece with a button on it that a person can easily press when being bullied or attacked and it will call for help immediately. This technology will help people feel more protected and safe in their everyday lives. Both of these products were very inspirational for technology we could possibly create!

More info:

Hey Gals!

Last Friday, we had our very first informational meeting! We were met by so many new enthusiastic faces, and we're very excited for GLIST this year. If you were not able to attend this meeting but are still interested in being a part of our club, don't worry! Just read on to learn more about what we talked about and try to make it to our next meeting. 

At our informational meeting, we went over some details about what GLIST is and what we do. Further information can be found in the following powerpoint and handout. I would highly recommend anyone who wasn't at the first meeting or just wants a refresher to take a look at the two links.
​(Note: You will have to be logged into your school email account in order to view these files) 

Next Meeting Information: 
Our next meeting will be on Friday, October 23rd. We will meet again outside the computer lab of the library after school to around 4:20. Make sure you have means of getting home safely, whether it be walking or taking the 4:30 late bus. If you have someone picking you up, make sure they are at the school waiting for you outside by 4:20. 
Hope to see you there!

Bye for now, 
The GLIST girls 

Hey Gals!

We, the girls of GLIST, would like to extend a hearty welcome to all of you. 
Our club is a place where girls can expand their horizons in fields of science and technology such as computer coding. So if you're interested in those things, want to get involved in more extracurriculars at school, or even somehow reached this page by accident, we encourage you to take a look around and consider attending our informational meeting after school. (The date is yet to be determined). Listen in on the announcements or check this blog for the date and place of our the first meeting. 
We hope to see you there!

Feel free to email us at glist.bcms@gmail.com or reach us through the contact page of our website if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. 

Bye for now, 
The GLIST girls

Check out this video to learn about who we are!

Click on the links below to learn more about GLIST, what we do, and our past (and current) projects/events: