from my hometown, and it was the first time I ever experienced snow. Since I had so many diverse interests, I was not sure what to study in college. However, since every aspect of life today involves technology, I thought I should study that and combine it with my other interests. So I majored in computer science and learned how to make computer programs, smartphone applications and robots. I also did a second major in global studies, which means I learned how these technologies are changing our world.
In college, I became interested in developing technologies to help people who are less fortunate than me. I developed computer games to help students at a school for the deaf in India get practice using their voice. I also worked on a robot that can help guide people who are blind inside buildings. In addition, I taught computer programming to middle school students in an afterschool program. Teaching is one of the most exciting experiences I have had because I get to give students skills and ideas that they will use for the rest of their lives!
In Japan, I study how robots can learn to interact with humans, just by watching them. For example, if you and I were making a poster together and a robot was watching us, could the robot learn how to work with us to make the poster? Specifically, I am investigating this problem in the store setting. My goal is to make a robot that can watch how a shopkeeper interacts with customers and use that to learn how to interact with customers itself.
One of my favorite activities to do here is go hiking because the natural environment is so beautiful. In addition, there are often temples at the top of the mountains.
