Side Projects
A selection of some fun side projects where I'm experimenting and building to learn.
Real-time Generative UI for AI-powered Brainstorming
ConceptStudio reimagines ideation tools, winning 3rd place in AI UX SF 2024 - Tools for Thought. This project explores the potential of generative UIs that emerges with ultra-low-latency LLMs and uses it to create a Figma-style canvas with AI-powered concept tools that react to the ideas you are exploring. (Video)
Exploring AI within Design Your Life
The Stanford Life Design Lab applies design thinking to tackling the "wicked" problems of life and vocational wayfinding. In an unofficial collaboration, we're exploring opportunities to utilize AI & LLMs to address needs for both students and Life Design facilitators.
Low-cost Nail Imaging Alignment
Dermatologists and nail specialists frequently take images of patient hands with standard smartphones via their EMR app. However, lack of consistent hand and camera positioning means that these photos can be difficult to compare over time, and are not suitable for ML training datasets. I'm working on a low-cost, zero-software solution that doctors and medical professionals can integrate into their existing workflows.
Obsidian LLM Integrations
I'm developing a collection of LLM tools to augment and enhance my Obsidian notes. For example, "LLM-prompt" blocks within my notes provide chainable GPT-4 insights and capabilities. When a note is updated, the LLM responses auto-update to match the current note content.
Self-capture for Dermatology
Local dermatologists report that 30-50% of patient-submitted photos are unsuitable for virtual care due to poor framing and user error. To address this, we introduced a solution combining inexpensive stickers and a guiding camera app to improve image quality, earning second place at Stanford health{hacks}.
FastGUI
A Python experiment utilizing type hints and decorators to automatically generate GUI elements for functions requiring basic forms of user-input (strings, bools, ints, floats, enum multi-selects, etc.)
Digital Guestbook & Photowall
For my wedding, I built a digital guestbook for guests to upload photos and messages. Throughout the evening, guests were able to scan a QR code to capture photos that were synced with a live photowall.
TinyPoint: PowerPoint Compressor
Ever-frustrated by the lack of compression options in PowerPoint and small corporate email size limits, I developed a tool for compressing .pptx files to arbitrary sizes. TinyPoint extracts images and videos from the presentation, individually compresses each of them (using FFmpeg, etc.), updates internal file references, and then rebuilds the presentation file. TinyPoint is packaged as a standalone exe and shared within my team at Samsung.
Fractal Nano-Photography
Several electron microscope images of my nanoscale 3D structures were displayed at Saint-Germain Cafe & Gallery in my hometown of Penticton, BC. Similar images of mine were also used in our academic publication and as the cover of Extreme Mechanics Letters.
Facebook Chat Visualizer
After 12+ years of using Messenger as my primary chat platform, I decided to download and explore changes to my conversation patterns and friendships through a series of visual experiments.
Posture Nudge
Posture Nudge is an app where screen brightness and phone angle work together to subtly encourage better posture and lessen neck strain. By using the phone's angle as an indicator of the user's head position and screen brightness as a gentle feedback mechanism, the app effectively rewards good posture without the need for extra sensors or intrusive alerts.
Evernote Ideas -> Physical Mailbox
As a fun exploration into discoverability and digital notes, I set up a newsletter based on my "Ideas" Evernote folder. Once a month, the letter was remotely printed and mailed to my house using LOB's mail automation service. I'd then open my mailbox to find a collection of recent ideas, older ideas I'd recently modified, and random ideas from past months.