# TRI Internship

## Overview
I will be doing a **12-week summer internship at Toyota Research Institute (TRI)** in **Los Altos, California**.

Known timing:
- **start date:** May 26, 2026
- duration: **12 weeks**
- expected end: around mid / late August 2026

TRI is on **El Camino Real** in the Los Altos / Mountain View area.

## Why this matters
This internship is important for:
- getting deeper exposure to real robotics research
- learning how strong robot systems are built in practice
- making progress on my long-term robotics direction
- building experience that complements my PhD work in 3D vision and robot learning

## My background entering the internship
I am a USC PhD student transitioning from more 3D / geometry-oriented research into robotics.

My recent focus has included:
- 3D learning
- camera pose / geometry from video
- robot calibration / pose estimation
- robot policy learning
- viewpoint robustness
- pixel-aligned robot action representations

I am especially interested in real-world robot policy training, not just simulation.

## Housing situation
I need short-term furnished housing for the internship.

Desired housing properties:
- furnished
- available for roughly 2.5 to 3 months
- practical commute to TRI
- low friction move-in / move-out
- ideally private, but price matters

## Housing budget
Rough budget I have considered:
- around `<= $2000/month` if I can find a strong value option
- up to around `~$2600/month` for a solid private studio / 1BR if it is worth it

## Housing areas I have considered
### Best convenience
- **Los Altos / Los Altos Hills**
  - closest to TRI
  - quiet
  - expensive

### Good balance
- **Mountain View**
  - more housing options
  - good food / more lively
  - typically an easy commute to TRI
  - likely one of the strongest overall options

### Also reasonable
- **North Palo Alto**
  - good location
  - more walkable in some areas
  - can still be expensive

### Cheaper but farther
- **Sunnyvale**
  - usually more affordable
  - commute is still reasonable but less ideal

## Commute preferences
I care about keeping the commute easy so the internship does not become logistically draining.

A short drive from Mountain View to TRI is generally acceptable and attractive.

## Current housing search style
I have been looking at:
- Airbnb
- furnished short-term rentals
- intern-friendly short-term housing options

I care more about:
- practicality
- furnished setup
- commute quality
- not overpaying too much

than about luxury.

## Personal constraints
I am also balancing:
- my USC PhD
- ongoing research projects
- robot policy / PARA work
- hardware / robot-arm progress
- possible housing / moving logistics back in LA

So the internship setup should minimize unnecessary logistical overhead.

## What I want from the internship
Broadly, I want to:
- get stronger at real robotics research
- learn from a high-quality applied robotics environment
- sharpen my research taste
- better understand what works in real-world robot learning
- come out with clearer direction for my PhD and long-term robotics goals

## Long-term relevance
This internship is not just a summer job to me.

It connects to my longer-term goals:
- becoming excellent at robotics research
- understanding real robot policy training deeply
- building useful robot systems in the real world
- eventually creating impactful robotics technology, ideally with a high degree of autonomy in what I build

## Immediate tasks
- finalize short-term furnished housing
- lock in a commute-friendly location
- make sure the internship dates and move timing are smooth
- keep my ongoing USC research moving during the internship
- use the internship as a chance to accelerate my robotics direction

## Agent notes
When helping me with TRI-internship-related tasks:
- optimize for low-friction logistics
- prioritize commute and furnished practicality
- keep costs reasonable
- remember that this is temporary housing, not a permanent move
- avoid solutions that create a lot of overhead for only 12 weeks