Team Biography
Xiaoya Guo (Jessie)
Jessie is a 4th year Electrical Engineering student interested in power system and sustainable energy solutions. She is sure that the idea of a smart transit system in Victoria will encourage more people to use the public transit and lead to a greener future. Her past Co-op work experiences include digital medical image processing at the BC Cancer Agency, technical support at AbeBooks.com, transmission system modeling management at Alberta Electrical System Operator, and electrical substation design at BC Hydro. In her spare time, she enjoys working out and outdoor activities.
Emily (Chu Feng) Huang
Emily is a third year Electrical Engineering student interested in digital signal processing. She believes that the design of smart bus stop could help out passengers with disabilities and give the public ample guidance when travelling. She had experienced different transit systems while she resided in Singapore and Taipei; therefore she could use her personal experiences as research reference. She also has fundamental knowledge of programming languages such as C and JAVA so she could help implementing the communication system of smart bus stop. With the previous experience working in EcoCAR team, she has basic knowledge of car structures. In her spare time, she enjoys participating in charity organizations??fund raising events and doing community service. Therefore, she could constantly speak to people with disabilities to understand their needs.
Lara Juras
Lara is a 4th year electrical engineering student specializing in electromagnetics and interested in optimizations in technology that can improve everyday practices and allow her to be creative. This project captured her interest since it is innovative and involves design freedom. She also is excited about the communications aspect and applying course work. Lara brings her previous work experience to the group from assisting project managers at ASYS GmbH with a solar panel machine line project, acting as a project coordinator with the hardware development project managers at Research in Motion and working with databases in the electrical team at Lafarge Canada Inc. Not to mention, her travel experience across the world (e.g. Germany, Spain) provides invaluable insight to current technologies in public transportation systems. This also means she understands the insecurities people may feel in an unfamiliar area and recognizes the need for a "Smart Transit System." In her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga and pilates, viewing films and traveling to new countries to experience the culture.
Ping-Hsiang Hung (Benson)
Benson is a 3rd year Computer Engineering student interested in embedded system and network security. He worked with computer vision development in AUVic, submarine hazard research at the Geological Survey of Canada, forest fire analysis and management at the Canadian Forest Service, and university website maintenance support at the University of Victoria Communication Services. Currently he acts as the project coordinator for the AUVic team and manages team outreach, website, recruitment, as well as computer system development for the autonomous underwater vehicle. He enjoys foil fencing and sabre fencing during his spare time and attend fencing tournaments sometimes. He has experienced the semi-smart transit system before; therefore he understands that the smart transit system project will give the public more conveniences by improving the current transit operation and providing timely bussing information.