Author: Ariana Sajnani

ISSIE presenting augmented reality game at Maker Faire

harpreetOn October 1 and 2, Harpreet Wasan  along with his team, ISSIE (ISSIE = International Space Station Interesting Exercise), will be traveling to the World Maker Faire, a huge event that gathers students, tech enthusiasts, engineers, educators, creators, commercial exhibitors, and more from all over the country and allows them to present and share the latest projects and products they have built. This is Harpreet’s first time attending Maker Faire and he and his team are looking forward to presenting their project, which is centered around augmented reality and virtual space.

hololensTheir concept is centered around physical activity for astronauts. Bones get weak while in space and they lose their density. The team has come up with an intergalactic space game that will keep astronauts constantly active while out in space. The interactive video game uses augmented reality to recreate a space environment. Through a Microsoft HoloLens headset, astronauts will see their actual surroundings and augmented reality objects such as aliens, planets and other space elements as if they are actually present. If you’ve ever wanted to pose alienbeside a virtual reality alien, this is the game for you. Pretty cool huh?

The project started in Spring ‘16 when Harpreet attended the NASA Hackathon. Here, he met Michael Doyle, a technology manager, and his 9-year-old daughter Laura, who came up with the idea of a workout in virtual space. Harpreet and a few other students, from different states within the country, became interested and wanted to work on this project.

issie-labs-2After doing some crowdfunding on Fiat Physica, ISSIE got to work creating the game on HoloLens in their lab space, ISSIE Labs, which is where the team meets, have hackathons and work on perfecting the game. They will soon need volunteers to try them and give some feedback – comment below if you’re interested!

issie-labs-1We can’t wait to hear about how ISSIE does at the World Maker Faire. Stay tuned to see how they get on!

 

 

 

Daniel Botero brings fresh Moffee coffee to Pace

daniel-boteroWhat do we want? Fresh coffee! When do we want it? Now! How do we get it? By ordering it through Moffee, an awesome new startup created by our very own Daniel Botero (MS-CS ’17).

Dan has used his entrepreneurial vision and applied it to a thriving industry: bringing coffee to the masses just when they need it the most. Moffee is a coffee delivery service that accepts orders through its self-titled app and brings your order to your location on or around the Pace downtown campus.

“I didn’t just love [coffee] because of the caffeine. I loved drinking it and became used to it,” says Dan. Daniel came up with the idea for Moffee when he took a notice of major coffee houses and observed how people would wait in long lines just to get a cup of coffee.

When ordering your coffee, you have complete control over what you want. Pick the type of drink (espresso, latte, hot chocolate, tea, etc), the milk, and the sweetener, and Moffee will make it to order. Dan is running the service on weekdays between 9am-6pm, which is perfect for getting that much-needed caffeine fix before class or during study sessions in the library. Moffee is also inexpensive by usual standards – most drinks will run you between $3 and $5.

moffee-coffees

After ordering, you will receive details such as the name of the person bringing your coffee, their number, and you can even track them by GPS. Payment is complete when the delivery person scans your order QR on your phone, so you don’t pay until your coffee is in your hands. Worried it’ll get cold? It won’t – Dan uses specially constructed lids from Taiwan that ensure the drink stays nice and hot.

His experience in starting Moffee has taught Dan a lot about how to run a business, including many dos and don’ts. Some ideas and strategies went well, while others fell flat and needed to be disregarded altogether. “I was always asking myself what else I could do and what my next idea was,” says Daniel.

In the future, Daniel wants to have a space where the employees can relax and do homework while waiting for orders to come in. Jobs with Moffee are offered to Pace students only, and the coffee shop would be on campus. Interested in applying? Contact Daniel through the Moffee website.

If you would like to learn about Moffee and discover awesome promos, visit them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Have you tried Moffee Coffee yet? Comment below and let us know what you think!

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