Proposal

Narrative

Student advising is open during normal office hours from 8am to 6pm. How often do you sit in front of your computer and need some advising right then, and they are not open? We are proposing, in collaboration with Amazon, to install Amazon’s Echodot in students’ dormitories. This Echodot is a smart speaker that uses "Alexa" to answer questions. A specially coded program will be added to the device that allows asking student/advising specific questions at any time of the day or night – no need to even go into the office or even turn on your computer. The funding from this TechFee proposal will be used to collect frequently asked questions from a number of avenues that will be used as the foundation to code this specific program that will allow you to ask “Alexa” questions related to your studies at FAU at any given time. It will also allow building and expanding the database of questions during the year of the funding proposal to ensure that most answers will be contained in this program. Funding is requested to pay a student intern to code the Echodot with collecting questions and answers relevant to FAU students, and coding a specific software to be added to the Echodot. Together with Student Affairs, we will then distribute these Echodots to student dorms. Amazon is in discussion to donate the Echodot hardware. This new tool will allow every student to have 24/7 advising without leaving their rooms.

Facilities

None

Hardware Requirements

None, cost share as gift from Amazon (for Echodots)

Software Requirements

Creation of custom Q&A software to be run on Echodots.

Personnel Costs

One student worker will be employed for a minimum of one year to create a database of FAQs, and create a software system that can be played on the Amazon Echodot. Cost: $13,572/yr

Other Costs

No other costs

Timeline

The student intern will create a database of FAQs in the first two months of the proposal, the remainder of the year will be spent on coding the appropriate software under the supervision of the iSense personnel.

Sustainability

The Division of Research will ensure that the software is updated on a regular basis, via the help of student employees that DoR will employ.

Resource Matching

We are in discussion with Amazon to donate Echodot devices for this project. Dr. Hallstrom of iSense has made significant progress on this site.

Implementing Organization

Division of Research and iSense.