PhD Notes (Part 5) — Major Breakthrough: I Want to Create a Mobile Sensor!Since last semester, when I guided students in the China International College Students Innovation Competition, I started to engage with the Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing, cloud platforms, and sensors. During the on-site presentations, we were always discussing concepts or proposals, remaining in the realm of simulation and imagination without anything tangible. At that time, I had a dream: I wanted to create a real sensor, one that could measure in real-time, rather than just a conceptual one. After a month of working on my PhD research direction, I finally felt a breakthrough. I reflected that it might be related to my flow state; as long as I am doing what I want to do, I can maintain a very long focus. Although my daily life is quite trivial, I can sit down for a whole day when writing. Perhaps it’s because I have been searching for this breakthrough (even thinking about it while sleeping), and the experimental design I came up with again involved a sensor. At that moment, I felt it was the right idea, but this time I wanted to combine it with wearable devices to create a mobile toy. According to this experimental design plan, I need to understand the sensor, BLE module, and Python Bleak script better. What excites me the most is that I can start with hardware, haha, it’s hardware!~ Watching the sophomore mechanical engineering students solder that Bluetooth speaker makes me eager to get hands-on; it’s simply delightful (dopamine levels instantly skyrocketing✌)! Next, I will probably get stuck at the intersection of software and hardware, then comes programming. Well, I got stuck on programming during my master’s to the point of feeling unwell, but this time I should be mentally prepared, no fear. Tomorrow, I need to find someone to validate the feasibility of this DIY plan and refine the experimental details. Once I have thought everything through clearly, I will prepare to discuss it with my advisor. That’s all for now, come and praise me 🤭