18 November 2010

Nearly 2 weeks since I last blogged. It had been a hell of a time for me due to my exams. I had 2 papers back-to-back as mentioned on the 3rd and 4th November. It was ENGSCI 355 and ENGSCI 363. I was quite disappointed in my performance for 355 partly because I didn't do much practice for it. As for 363, it was more of a relieve considering the fact that I didn't do very well throughout the semester for this paper. Right after 363 (4th Nov), I had like 9 days to study for the next paper, ENGSCI 331.

I kinda realised that the stuff that I study in my course is actually covers a broad area and in a way, I'm quite versatile! However, I haven't mastered it properly. I bet those of my friends who are good in those subjects can do any engineering specialisation and still understand it! And that is how versatile Engineering Scientists are. Well, I gotta buck up more! Next year will be my final year of study.

OK, enough of the exams stuff for now. Today I woke up quite late cuz the night before I slept late (was playing my iTouch. Hehe!). It was the first day I started my Summer Research Program. To those who are not in the know, the reason why I'm staying back in Auckland this Summer is because I was chosen to do one of the Summer Research Titles under Dr Andrew Mason (Eng. Science) and Prof. Gordon Mallinson (Mechanical Eng.). Hence, throughout my research duration, I'll be filling this blog up with what I have done. :)

My research is basically about automated 8mm film digitisation. In the early days, films were used to capture videos, typically 8 mm films. As time passes, these medium of storage deteriorates or can be destroyed with ease without careful handling. However, with the current technology of storing files and information digitally, these factor can be overcome. So, the aim is to convert these old film movies into digital formats.

One method of converting these old movies into digital files was to project the film and record it with a camcorder (just like how people ciplak movies). Haha. However, a lot of details is lost due to the many processes and also, a lot of high-end equipment is needed to ensure the minimum amount of detail loss. Two years ago, there was a undergraduate Mechatronics project which studied this area. The student modified the method of capturing the images on the 8 mm film by photographing each frame instead of recording the projection.

They reconstructed a film digitiser machine to be able to do that and the images which are captured are all processed to correct the exposure and reduce the noise, and then combined into a video. This method would mean that one can digitise films at home economically while maintaining a high quality.

My area of research will be on the frame alignment to reduce shake and also exposure correction or in other words, high dynamic range imaging. If I am not wrong, dynamic optimisation can be used in these two areas to improve the quality of the video files. As for the mechanical part of the project, I will be working closely with another Mechatronics student, Brian.

And so, I went to uni to do some literature review on this topic and that's it. After that, I had to take a bus to Maggie ah yee's place to give Wei-Sheng tuition for his Biology. Went there at around 2 pm and got back by 515 pm. Met up with Jothi cuz she wanna put her stuffs at my place over the summer. I was a little unhappy with her actually but I didn't show it out la. She told me she only wanna put one luggage and 4 boxes with me but ended up there were 7 or 8 boxes! That's like double the amount already. At first I promised 4 only but what can I do? I couldn't just tell her I can't keep cuz she's leaving the following day... Sigh~ Frankly speaking, the next time anyone tries to do this to me, I'm gonna just say sorry I can't help outside of what I promised lo! -_-"

Anyways, after shifting all her stuffs, I went to Mission bay to meet up with Sam and the rest. They went there earlier to have a picnic and to play some beach volleyball which I missed! :( Oh well, it's not as bad too cuz I still get to have dinner with them at an Italian restaurant, Portofino. Had risotto and a cup of mochacinno. After dinner, we all went to Kelvin's place to meet up with Dimi before she leaves Auckland for Malaysia.

Then, it was back home. At home, Meng did some research on Master studies in Auckland Uni. He may study it next year. We talked whole night bout it and he was choosing some subjects which he feels is interesting to do. We went to bed quite late.