Let's be the Secret Agents of Innovation

“The name is Bond, James Bond”

Tell me the truth, how many times did you practice this line in front of the mirror with your own name. Spies are cool. Speaking virtually every language in the world, instantly making friends, mixing with crowd, foreseeing the outcome, not to mention being good with the ladies!

You know what I think? We can still be one. Cool like a spy.

We can be, “The Secret Agent of Innovation”

Think about it. The scientific communities are full with people eagerly waiting to share their ideas with the rest of the world. Because anyone in the scientific community knows that only way we can grow better is by sharing and through teamwork. That’s why they organize conference and publish their works on Journals. But I found it hard to instantly connect with them. I didn’t know how to approach them or how to begin a conversation with them. I couldn’t be the “James Bond” of the scientific community gathering.

It’s been almost a month I’m in Japan for my study purpose. I’m studying in KyuTech. Their lab has more tools than what I’m used to. I now have access to site like amazon and ebay. Technically, I can order any component from online and build my idea. But I still couldn’t do it. Because, most of the sites in Japan are written in Japanese. People here don’t use English because they don’t need to. They are sufficient on their own.

There have been time, when I needed some certain computer script to run to accomplish my goal. I found out about openCV and I was mesmerized by the collection of algorithms. Open source and free of cost. But I couldn’t use it. I didn’t know enough about programming language.

So here’s the thing, I couldn’t connect with people, I can’t talk with people around me and I can’t use the resources that I already have. Why so?

May be because, from the childhood I was too focused on being a student instead of being a good learner. May be I was too concerned about raising my grades, when I should have gone out and made more friends. Learn to mix with the society.

Train to be a “Secret Agent of Innovation”.

Panic attack and Facebook

One thing no one put it on their experience list, how it feels right before leaving for you higher studies. I’m expecting my visa within this week and when I get that, i’ll fly at the earliest convenience. I know my shopping isn’t complete, but I have roughly a week to finish it. But I get this feeling I never experienced before, the constant feeling of running out of time. The clock gives you a constant reminder. Once you are out of your country, you are out of your comfort zone. You’ll no longer be in a place you are familiar with. No one will speak your language. No one will eat the same food as you would. You are expected to speak their language, eat their kind of food and obey their rules. You don’t have anyone to pick you up on your feet in case you fall. This is not an easy thing to deal with.

I’ve been trying to calm my mind through diverting attention to something else. Gossiping, writing, watching TV; things I now consider a waste of time. I’ve been watching “Person of Interest”. I have to say, it did manage to divert my mind from the reality for the day. For those of you who have never seen an episode of it, the show involves an ex-military guy protecting random people based on a super AI machine built by a computer genius who is dead by papers! Of course, being an engineer, I can tell majority of the plot is crap and based of science fiction which is not possible to implement. However, behind the Hollywood stunts and CGI there is an alarming truth.

Did you notice how easy it is for Finch to acquire personal data. At one point there is a dialog, “It was very hard for governments to gain personal information and their association. So I created social media.” A laughable line for those who know the history behind social media but nevertheless, it does make a strong point. I realized, I spent years posting my best pictures on Facebook, mapping the places I went to, food I love, people I be with, movies I like. I consciously created a virtual copy of myself. Open for public to view and comment. Now that I think of it, it wouldn’t be so difficult for someone to impersonate me. I posted everything about me online, because I thought it will create more job opportunities for me, I’ll get to know more people, but now I think it was a stupid idea. I should be more careful when it comes to posting on social media. Think about it; In the past decade, you’d find hopeless Romeos standing on the street waiting to catch a glimpse of his darling. Now, in the present, he just needs to be a “Friend” on Facebook and keep staring at those selfies she posts every hour, be at the events she says she’ll be there!

Technology is merely a tool. It is upto us to use it. I would prefer the users to be good people. So be a good people and stop posting crap on Facebook.

Was it a mistake?

My target was BUET  and BUET only. My ancestors have graduated from this University, so I had to get in.


Unfortunately I couldn't. for about a year, I was a hopeless undergrad student desperately looking for ways to get back to 'glory'.


I tried to explore every bit of possibility to excel. I push my academic activities to the limit. I studied extra in the library to attain quality. I tried to brush up my communication skills. I tried to pick up some leadership skills. And now when the time has come to upgrade myself, I find myself struggling, out of stamina, gasping for air.

I find my friends and seniors studying MBA in hope for a better life.

What awaits my fate? Where's the mistake? More importantly, did I make any mistakes?

As the time passed by, I was fortunate to meet more people. Seniors whom I haven't meet before. To this date, they are proud engineers. Not all of them have a spot light job. Not all of them are getting promotion or raise every year. But the are surviving with honor.

I might be struggling to get myself to the next stage, but even I am confident enough, if I can graduate from EEE department, I can land a decent job with ease. It might not be high paying. It might not be even an engineer's post. Nevertheless, inshallah, I will not have any trouble finding a job.


Inshallah, a day will come in the near future, when being a EEE graduate will be enough. No, I'm not joking. Just compare the numbers. Number of EEE graduates retaining their original line of work would be less than a percent of first semester students. You cannot ignore a person who has survived this far.


You don't lose when you fall. You lose when you stopped believing your self. No. It wasn't a mistake.

Bottom of the Pyramid

I'm very noisy about two things. First, I hate Windows and Apple; I love Linux, even though I hardly understand computer science. I've never dug deep into Linux and here I'm claiming Linux is the future. Windows keeps crashing all the time. Mac runs everything, virus free, beautiful and yet I hate Apple for the secretive non modular approach. All I know, if the wiki says it works on Linux, it just works. If it says it doesn't work, then I pray and hope that someone will soon fix it.

Secondly, education system. I hated it when I has to study 12 different subjects in school. Working with WNES I still cherished that principle, until I took Khalil Sir's class.

It's true that exploring subjects wastes some time. But it's necessary so that you do not waste your life. Imagine a big castle. Where there are many rooms and dungeons filled with treasures and mysterious items. If you stop exploring yourself in the first room and settle there, you'll never know what you missed. Who knows, the subject you didn't study in school, might have had changed your world.

However, overtime, we have closed our mind. There are only handful of teachers around who can guide you through the doors of the castle. I'm not sad that I wasted my second year of University in club activities. It has taught me how to connect with people. I'm not sad that I had to spend 4 months in TARC, because I met a great person. I'm not sad that I had to say goodbye to a great person, because that taught me to accept the truth and with it came great clarity of mind.

I am sad now, because I've to acquire a special skill set in limited amount of time and I desperately seek for guidance. I'm confident, I'll somehow manage to meet the deadline, but now I can sense the gap between bottom of the pyramid and the top of the pyramid. 

What do you call progress?

What do you call progress? How do you keep it separated from frustration.

After I failed to fulfill my target back in 2010, I went into a state of depression. My first year at BRAC University was very frustrating. Now, as my last semester at BRAC University approaches, I'm reassured I can continue chasing my dreams. My dreams are still alive. Until I compare them to others.

BRAC University Robotics research lab has given me the confidence to pursue a career in science. It has given me the opportunity to prove my strength to academics. I now realize how far I've come in my life. Comparing who I was back in the year 2000 with who I am today, gives me courage to move forward.

But I can't be happy yet. While I've done good in my studies, rest of the world did it even better. I just realized today, Jeremy Blum is not really that old. He is only 24. But look at him. He is breaking boundaries. He is an international author on Arduino while I'm still trying to figure out how to run a blink program without delays.

Understanding Operational Amplifier - OpAmp

This article will not discuss about the mathematical interpretation of OpAmp. Rather, it'll be talking about why we use OpAmp or Why is OpAmp so important? So, if this is the night before your exam, I cannot help you. But, if you are working on your first OpAmp based project, continue reading.

Figure: Typical OpAmp Symbol

How does OpAmp work?

Truth is, I don't know. All I know is there are at-least 13 transistor inside an OpAmp and together, they do magic. In the past, there has been a lot of research on how to make OpAmp more efficient and useful. So, if we are to understand the exact working procedure of OpAmp, it'll take a lot of study. Even today, I have no clue how an OpAmp function internally, although I've done numerous projects with it. So today, I'm going to talk about OpAmp from application point of view.

OpAmp has 3 basic functions:

1. Amplifier
2. Comparator
3. Buffer

Figure: 'Inverting' Amplifier

If you connect the output and the input of an OpAmp through a resistor, it'll function as an amplifier. Depending on your connection, it can be either an 'inverting amplifier' or an 'non-inverting amplifier'. Whatever it is, it is basically the same. It'll amplify your input signal. I find it easy to use OpAmp as an amplifier. It is less hassle than to design an amplifier using transistor alone. 

Figure: OpAmp as 'Comparator'

If the output and input are not connected, then the OpAmp will function as a comparator. It is another very useful application. It allows you to compare an unknown voltage against a know voltage. Using multiple OpAmp and multiple known voltage reference, you can even design a low quality digital multimeter. You can make a line follower Robot using only comparators.

Figure: 'Buffer Ic'

If you connect the output and the input with a wire, it becomes a buffer IC. You can also call it a power amplifier. It means, output voltage will be same as input, but you can amplify the current. Hence drive a power hungry device, such as, a motor. 

OpAmp are also used where some sort of electrical isolation is required between two devices. Output pin's voltage and current depends on the biasing voltage of OpAmp. So whatever load is connected to output pin of OpAmp, it draws power from the same source as the OpAmp, not from the device which acts input to the OpAmp. 

My insight:

You all know, the age of personal computer began after the invention of transistors. A microprocessor will do anything you program it to do. OpAmp is basically a collection of transistors. Therefore, any program you write on a microprocessor or a micro controller (say operating a robot), same function can be implemented by OpAmp alone. Of course, the circuit will be enormous. But it's possible. 

In general, OpAmp decreases the difficulty of putting together multiple elements in a circuit. Same IC can perform a different task only by changing it's external connections.

In any semiconductor book, you'll find OpAmp appears before MOSFET and transistor. Technically, operation of MOSFET and transistors are easier to understand and OpAmp is a complex arrangement of transistors. So why introduce OpAmp first? Well, this is mainly because, in professional world, we are most likely to use OpAmp for amplification / comparison purpose. Other uses of transistors are easy to understand and it's function are limited. Furthermore, OpAmp are much more fun to work with. So don't worry about OpAmp's related equation first. Play with it. Get to know OpAmp. Then you'll have fun time reading about the mathematical explanations.

Figure: Internal circuit of an OpAmp

To know the full working procedure of OpAmp, you can refer to research papers anytime. Or look up on the Internet for some information enrich articles. But be warned, many of those information are result of years of research. So, for obvious reason you might not understand it in one day. But don't give up. Keep reading them. Study EEE hardier. And one day, help me understand OpAmp better!

Surviving life...!!!

Have we been blinded by our greed so much that we have forgotten how beautiful our life is?

Now a days, I often find myself asking, What am I actually doing? What I need to do and Where my life is heading to?

Life in our time has become so much of routine work, that we have learned to turn a blind eye to what actually matters.

You'll see successful businessmen, making tons of money but has no time to spend with his family.
You'll see brilliant mathematician, working as a cashier at some bank.
You'll see dumb kids at universities, just because they need a degree to hang on their wall.

WTF if wrong with us?

Workaholic - A Short story

[Note: This is my first take at fiction writing. Not to be mixed with my regular articles. ~Maisun]



"Will you have your usual menu, Ishraque?"

"Absolutely."

"How's that neck pain today?" Said Erik while serving the dishes.

"It's better today. I barely remember about it. I'm having such a busy time with this new project."

"Let me guess, you'll have to kill me if you told me."

"Correct. I can't possibly tell you how this new machine of mine will replace traditional medicine manufacturing and produce huge batch of life saving medicine within days."

"Enjoy your meal. See you in a bit." smiling as he went to sever other in the cafe.

Not that he was hungry. But his life has become more of a clock work now a days. Not that he needs the money, he has plenty of it. Nobody knows how much money he has. Once in a while, he would go to his bank and write of huge checks to charity in Africa. Not the ones who provide food, but education. He never explained why he does that. If you asked me, some of the people there could use little more food. You can't focus on learning when you are hungry. Unless the books are edible.

Global conflicts, deforestation, hunger, riots, war are the least of his worries. Hell, he doesn't even know the name of current President of USA. He is an workaholic. Only thing he thinks about, is his work. It changes time to time. But remains in the same genre.

" May be I should re-calibrate the speed of the ....."

His chain of thoughts was broken by a mild voice, "Is this seat taken?"

"No". He didn't even look up. In this cafe, he always took the seat in the corner. He would always seat with his back to the streets and facing the park. Not that there was a lot to see, it was quiet. No one bothered him here.


"Don't you get bored eating the same food everyday?"

For an unknown reason he would eat the same food every lunch hour. Sometimes the menu is different. But usually, it's the same. Erik knows about it. That's why he never goes into the details. Little rice. vegetables, preferably green, well cooked but not overdone. A big chunk of chicken or sometimes sea fish, of course the season has to be right.

Besides Erik, the cafe manager knows this. On busy day he would keep the bill ready ahead of time. Ishraque is not a man who likes to waste his time. And the cook knows it too. How would he forget? He nearly lost his steady pay check when he mistakenly overcooked the vegs. Nobody else supposed to know about his food habits.

Curious, he looked up.


"You haven't changed." said the lady, putting down his laptop on the table.

"I can say the same about you. You look old, but your smile is the same." said Ishraque after a long pause.

"What are you upto these days?"

"Not much. I work for agencies. Picking up a project or two."

"Aren't you gonna ask me how I'm doing or where I was all these time?" Said Jerin breaking the long silence.

"I would, but why ask question when you already know the answer to?" Trying to focus on his meal. On any other day, he would have finished by now.

"Still haven't gave up that 'Mr. Know-it-all' attitude? I'm impressed." now her eyes on the laptop screen.

"In my line of business, you get used to it."

"I do have to tell you, I could never predict you becoming a reporter." eating up the very last bit of his meal as slow as you possibly can.

"Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment" said Jerin as she ordered herself a cup of coffee.

"If I were you, I would have pressed charges against that Restaurant owner. You had every rights to say what you said."

"There was no need. He suddenly backed off after 2 days."

"Guess he wasn't so dumb after all." A little smile on Ishraque's face.


"Guess I'll be seeing you around." said Jerin as Ishraque was getting up from his chair.

"No you won't." said Ishraque as he put on his coat and moves towards the exit.



Why does he work so hard? Nobody knows. He would probably have to kill you if he told you.


~Maisun.
[Note: This is my first take at fiction writing. Not to be mixed with my regular articles. ]

Robotics: Where do we stand?

Working with robotics doesn't always refer to big and heavy piece of metal moving on its own, doing works with great efficiency previously done by humans. In the developed part of world, robotics is a hobby, an art form to many. In Bangladesh, its a challenge.

Robotics is a challenge not because it takes patience and hard work to complete, it is challenging because we live in Bangladesh.

It pains me to say it, but I find it the main reason.

I wish it wasn't true. I really do.

Resources are extremely limited when you are in Bangladesh and working on robotics. Building a project takes money, usually from your own pocket money. Even if you have sufficient funding, local electronics store may not have what you need. Sometimes we need to wait 3+ months to get a single IC. That too, from China with no guarantee of product and almost with no documentation. If you get through these two obstructions, you may then proceed to learn/build robotics. How long can you keep it up? Until you are a under-grad student. Soon as you graduate, you need to find an 'Actual' job. Otherwise, the society points finger at you. if not, the praise you in the beginning and then ditch you. They always do. Few find the courage and will power to carry on with their passion and works in Electronics/Robotics. Only FEW.

I recently met with a junior at my University. His father is an EEE and an entrepreneur. He's been building, testing and selling various items for a long time. Learning that he owns a CNC routing machine (I never knew there was one in Bangladesh) I was eager to meet him; and I did. Once a glorified Engineer and manufacturer, now does simple import and export business. He had so much to offer this country hadn't there been uncontrolled imports from China. I'm no economist, but I feel poor quality and uncontrolled imports from China has choked our domestic economy.

There is no significant industry in Bangladesh. Hence, Engineers find themselves behind a desk, filling routine paper works or in banks, counting others money.

Despite all of these nuisance, some managed to survive and held their heads high. Jonayet vaia for example. He has managed to build "ChondroBot" literally out of scraps. I have only heard of stories of scavenge hunt for suitable motor in Dholaikhal and the world has witnessed and group of undergrad students from a third world country make their way to 12th place worldwide in LMC 2012.

I've been assured by Kafi vai, that there are places in Bangladesh where Engineers solve actual problem s; whereas their batch mates are pushing papers from one desk to another. I have been informed by Promon, that there lies a group within Bangladesh which actually works on robotics. I've seen Shams waking up and doing something about his dreams. I've been told by Ron vai, hope is still there.


You know what I believe? I believe all great things starts with a dream.




It was 20th of February, about 2130 hrs. After having a closer look at the CNC machine, dust covered transformer winding machine, rusting transistors and innumerable boxes of unsold products; when uncle was about leave his office, I asked him, "Uncle, do you have any plans for comeback in future?"

He said, "No. I no longer have the energy." There was no dream in his eyes.

Now the question is, what becomes of us?

Probability, Practicality and Feasibility

I don't know if I've taken my studies a bit too seriously, but I know one thing for sure, I'm obsessed with 'practicality', 'probability', 'feasibility', 'efficiency'. If something is not "Mathematical", I lose my cool temper.

I'm not quite complaining about 'uncertainty' of life. I would rather say, I got to understand the beauty of it. The beauty of uncertainty, a momentary chaos; can sometimes be beautiful. If luck favours, you get to smile. If not, you get a set of problems to work on.

For me, it was a good day.