Wow, what a journey it has been
throughout my capstone! Completing this project was one of the most challenging
but rewarding tasks I completed throughout my undergrad. Before my capstone, I
had no prior experience in completing a capstone or thesis. Moreover, I had no
idea what I was getting myself into with the months and months of research I was
going to be conducting. The cherry on top was writing a scholarly paper on a
topic of my choosing, where its length would be equivalent to the combined
lengths of every English paper I wrote throughout college.
My topic was on data visualization of
different Internet of Things systems. The Internet of Things is simply a system
where everyday devices that we use can be connected to the internet. For
instance, books, pills, home appliances, and even food can be a part of this
paradigm. Once a device is connected to the internet, it can send or receive
its specific data to other connected devices or upload it to the network that
it is in. For instance, if I have a bunch of devices that have sensors that
record different temperatures, this data can be uploaded to the Internet where
it can be seen by the device owners or anyone in the same network. Thus, my
capstone relied on taking this data and making it look “pretty” by visualizing
it using digital gauges and thermometers provided by an online platform known
as ThingsBoard.
The Internet of Things was one of the
concepts that was not taught in any of the Computer Science classes that I have
taken. However, I kept hearing stories on how the Internet of Things is having
an impact on our lives whether at home, shopping, or at work, and I wanted to
learn more about this movement. Thankfully, my professor was already looking to
do research on the Internet of Things, and I ended up using our research as our
Capstone.
Completing this research allowed me to
gain perspective on the endless months that it takes to conduct research
effectively. It was definitely not like the research papers that I completed
during my English classes. It took about a year to finish researching and
experimenting to start my paper. However, it definitely paid off when it came
to writing my paper, as I didn’t feel “lost” like I usually would feel when
starting to write a paper.
At the end of the day, I absolutely believe
that completing this Capstone has prepared me for my career in the Tech
Industry. It has taught me how to effectively conduct research and utilize it
into a thesis paper that could potentially become a publication once I present
it at the WOCC 2020 Conference in Newark, NJ. I feel that this capstone is
going to stay with me for the rest of my life and will follow me as I begin my
career and finish my undergrad.
While
I would have the jitters from hearing the word capstone at first, now hearing
it makes me realize how far I’ve come throughout my time as a Verrazzano
student at CSI. It makes me realize that if I can handle such an arduous task
as completing a capstone, I can overcome any obstacles that can follow me
throughout my life even after college.
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