Robotics at PXL Hasselt

We started the day off with our usual breakfast before diving into what would be our most intensive development session yet. Today was dedicated to working on both our presentation and self-driving car project, and knowing this would be our longest uninterrupted work period, we were determined to make progress. The group collaboration flowed well throughout the day, with everyone contributing a lot. Despite the intensive nature of the work, we found ourselves having fun as we tackled challenges together and watched our project take shape. The combination of productivity and camaraderie made the hours pass surprisingly quickly. As evening approached, it was time for our farewell dinner, which felt bittersweet knowing our time together was drawing to a close. We had Italian, where we enjoyed both the delicious food and the opportunity to reflect on our experiences. The conversation flowed as freely as the evening progressed, creating lasting memories of our final group meal. After dinner...

We started the day as usual in the hostel, breakfast was busier than usual because a group of high schoolers also stayed at the hostel. We walked to school and then we settled in our designated groups and we discussed our plan for our upcoming pitch.  The morning session focused on presenting our ideas to the teachers, who voted on which concept we should pursue for our project. Once the decision was made, we immediately began working on both the presentation and our self-driving car project. Unfortunately, time flew by quickly, and before we knew it, it was already noon, leaving us with limited working time before our extended lunch break. During our break, we took the opportunity to explore the gaming room at PXL before walking back to the city center for the afternoon's cultural activity. We visited the Hophemel, where we received a fascinating explanation of the beer-making process. The tour concluded with an enjoyable beer tasting session accompanied by various snacks. We had ...

Tuesday kicked off bright and early with breakfast at the hostel before heading to the PXL campus. The day was packed from the start. It began with a full dive into computer vision. The morning sessions were focused on understanding the basics of image processing and the tools we’d be using for the rest of the week. We were introduced to OpenCV, one of the most widely used libraries for computer vision. The presenters walked us through how images can be filtered, transformed, and analyzed to detect shapes, colors, and edges. It was surprising how much goes on behind the scenes of something as simple as detecting a line or recognising an object in a photo. After lunch, we moved on to project ideation. This was where teams brainstormed how to apply computer vision in the context of the week’s challenge. Ideas started forming quickly, and it helped to share thoughts across groups to get some early feedback. The rest of the afternoon was all about trying things out. We opened the Gazebo si...

We woke up to a nicely presented breakfast at the youth hostel, surprisingly they had a good amount of variety. We finished just in time to depart since we were expected at the campus at 9am for an introduction of what we'll be doing. After finding our way through the campus we realized we took the long route and that there actually was a much shorter one.  Once everyone had arrived, the teachers began by introducing themselves and the PXL school. They then outlined their future plans for expanding the campus and discussed the curriculum of the AIN course more known as Artificial intelligence and networks. Next, we were introduced to robotics more broadly to help us become familiar with the field we’ll be working in. This included an overview of its history, various applications, and a critical perspective on how robotics are used in the modern world. After this introduction, we moved on to ROS, an open-source software that serves as a framework for robotics development. Then it wa...

After a long wait, the time had finally come for us to start our project. Our group of four each made our way to the city of Hasselt. We all took the train, as it was the most efficient way to get there. For most of us, the ride took around three hours—not counting the delays, which we were all too familiar with. For me, it only took about an hour since I had been in Antwerp the day before, which also meant I was one of the first to arrive. Once we got there, we were greeted warmly at the reception. The staff quickly helped us with general information and details about Hasselt. They explained that the room assignments had been made randomly, so none of us were sharing a room. I settled in quickly and decided to go explore the city. Later that evening, once everyone had arrived, we were asked to gather together. That’s when we met the international coordinator of PXL Hasselt, who gave us a brief overview of the week ahead and explained how to get to the campus. After that, most of us ...