Projects

This page is a repository of links to the pages describing the projects we at the AIRLab are working on, or have been in the past.

Ongoing projects

by research area (areas are defined in the Main Page); for each project a name and a link to its AIRWiki page is given

Robotics

LURCH - The autonomous wheelchair, LURCH - The autonomous wheelchair

RAWSEEDS, Rawseeds

Finished projects

by research area (areas are defined in the Main Page; for each project a name and a link to its AIRWiki page is given

Note for students

If you are a student and there isn't a page describing your project, this is because YOU have the task of creating it and populating it with (meaningful) content. If you are a student and there IS a page describing your project, you have the task to complete that page with (useful and comprehensive) information about you and your own contribution to the project.

Be aware that you can work within the AIRLab's structures (see The Labs) only after the page of your project has been set up AND completed with all the above information. Be also aware that the quality of your work (or lack of it) on the AIRWiki will be evaluated by the Teachers and will influence your grades.

Instructions to add a new project are available at Projects#HOWTO add a new project to the AIRWiki

HOWTO add a new project to the AIRWiki

Contributing to a wiki is easy, and leaves you with a deep sense of satisfaction: by contributing, you are documenting your work and helping all the other users of the wiki as well. A well thought out help for MediaWiki (the software that AIRWiki, or for that matter also Wikipedia, is built upon) Please note that all the content you insert into the AIRWiki must be written in English.

Here is a complete description of the procedure to create a new page associated to your project: follow its steps carefully, because other contributors do not appreciate when their content is damaged or destroyed by careless people.

Preparing the new project page

1. open a text editor (e.g. Notepad);
2. create a new, empty text file: let's call it YourPage.txt;
3. open the Project page template AIRWiki page with a browser (e.g. Firefox): the internet address is http://airwiki.elet.polimi.it/mediawiki/index.php/Project_page_template;
4. click the edit tab on the top of the Project page template to expose the wiki source text;
5. copy all the content of the source text window into YourPage.txt, e.g. by using Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V. Make sure not to cut or alter the source text of the Project page template! Do NOT click on the 'Save page' button!!;
6. close your browser;
7. modify the YourPage.txt file by substituting all the example text with information about your project. It is likely that, for the time being, Part 2 of the page (project description) will be empty: after all you just started working on the project, isn't it?

Adding the new project to the Projects page of the AIRWiki

1. with a browser, open the Projects page: the internet address is http://airwiki.elet.polimi.it/mediawiki/index.php/Projects;
2. go to the 'Ongoing projects' section and find the subsection having the name of the research area of your project: e.g. "E-Science" (if you have doubts, ask the teachers);
3. choose a name of your liking for the new AIRWiki page dedicated to your project: use a word or a short phrase with only the first letter in capitals (of course you have to choose a name that is coherent with the objectives of the project);
4. click the edit link on the right of the subsection to expose the wiki source text;
5. add a new text line with the name of your project and a link to its wiki page: the latter is simply the page name you chose surrounded by double square parentheses (this will create the page when you will click the "Save page" button - DON'T click it now);
6. use a blank line to separate the new line from pre-existing text;
7. be extremely careful not to alter pre-existing text: if you think you could have done that, press the 'back' button of your browser now to exit from the editing page without saving, then repeat the editing steps;
8. click the "Show preview" button at the bottom of the page, and look carefully at the whole subsection (not only to the part you added): if it doesn't seem to be perfectly right, press the 'back' button of your browser now to exit from the editing page without saving, then repeat the editing steps;
9. when you are certain that all is ok, click the "Save page" button at the bottom of the page. If you didn't screw up, you should be able to (proudly) see the description of your project among the others.

Now, clicking on the link to your project's page you just created in the Projects page of the AIRWiki, you will see one of these:

• the 'edit' tab of an empty page: good, you chose a good name for your page. Proceed to fill the page as described below.
• a non-blank page: argh, you chose an already-used name for your page. Re-edit the Projects page and modify the link (i.e. the name between double square parentheses) you put in it, changing the name of your new page (i.e. the name between double square parentheses). As before, click the "Save page" button only if and when you are certain that all is ok.

Go on with this checking and modifying until you find a (sensible!) name that no other projects have yet used for their pages.

Filling the new page

1. If you are looking at the 'edit' tab of your project's new page, simply open file "YourPage.txt" (you know, the one containing the content for your page, which you prepared before) and copy its entire contents into the page. If not, use a browser to open your page (the internet address is http://airwiki.elet.polimi.it/mediawiki/index.php/NameOfYourPage) and click on the 'edit' tab on the top of the page.
2. click the "Show preview" button at the bottom of the page, and look carefully at the result: if it doesn't seem to be right, press the 'back' button of your browser now to exit from the editing page without saving, then repeat the page editing by clicking on the 'edit' tab on the top of the page;
3. when you are certain that all is ok, click the "Save page" button at the bottom of the page.

You should now be able to (veeery proudly) see your project's page in its full glory. If you aren't satisfied with the result, just go back to page editing by clicking on the 'edit' tab on the top of the page.

As your work on your project will go on, don't forget to keep your project's page up-to-date: remember that it will be the main source of information about how your project is going for your teachers too, so they will look at it often and with attention :-)