Web cookies (also called HTTP cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small pieces of data that websites store on your device (computer, phone, etc.) through your web browser. They are used to remember information about you and your interactions with the site.
Purpose of Cookies:
Session Management:
Keeping you logged in
Remembering items in a shopping cart
Saving language or theme preferences
Personalization:
Tailoring content or ads based on your previous activity
Tracking & Analytics:
Monitoring browsing behavior for analytics or marketing purposes
Types of Cookies:
Session Cookies:
Temporary; deleted when you close your browser
Used for things like keeping you logged in during a single session
Persistent Cookies:
Stored on your device until they expire or are manually deleted
Used for remembering login credentials, settings, etc.
First-Party Cookies:
Set by the website you're visiting directly
Third-Party Cookies:
Set by other domains (usually advertisers) embedded in the website
Commonly used for tracking across multiple sites
Authentication cookies are a special type of web cookie used to identify and verify a user after they log in to a website or web application.
What They Do:
Once you log in to a site, the server creates an authentication cookie and sends it to your browser. This cookie:
Proves to the website that you're logged in
Prevents you from having to log in again on every page you visit
Can persist across sessions if you select "Remember me"
What's Inside an Authentication Cookie?
Typically, it contains:
A unique session ID (not your actual password)
Optional metadata (e.g., expiration time, security flags)
Analytics cookies are cookies used to collect data about how visitors interact with a website. Their primary purpose is to help website owners understand and improve user experience by analyzing things like:
How users navigate the site
Which pages are most/least visited
How long users stay on each page
What device, browser, or location the user is from
What They Track:
Some examples of data analytics cookies may collect:
Page views and time spent on pages
Click paths (how users move from page to page)
Bounce rate (users who leave without interacting)
User demographics (location, language, device)
Referring websites (how users arrived at the site)
Here’s how you can disable cookies in common browsers:
1. Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data.
Choose your preferred option:
Block all cookies (not recommended, can break most websites).
Block third-party cookies (can block ads and tracking cookies).
2. Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
Under the Enhanced Tracking Protection section, choose Strict to block most cookies or Custom to manually choose which cookies to block.
3. Safari
Open Safari and click Safari in the top-left corner of the screen.
Go to Preferences > Privacy.
Check Block all cookies to stop all cookies, or select options to block third-party cookies.
4. Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and site permissions.
Select your cookie settings from there, including blocking all cookies or blocking third-party cookies.
5. On Mobile (iOS/Android)
For Safari on iOS: Go to Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security > Block All Cookies.
For Chrome on Android: Open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies.
Be Aware:
Disabling cookies can make your online experience more difficult. Some websites may not load properly, or you may be logged out frequently. Also, certain features may not work as expected.
We designed a puffer fish (bio-inspired robot) for egg drop challenge. The system is based on Hoberman's sphere (a popular kids toy) that will have parachute on the upper half sphere and elastic legs for landing. In the middle of it is a plane that will be holding the payload and actuators. And the purpose of this project is to be able to successfully drop the egg (payload) from the tallest building at UConn (so Humpty dumpty doesn't break his head :-D). Innovate Labs helped us to 3D print most of the joints and the links needed to create a Hoberman's sphere, as well as the midplane for supporting the components. We are wery grateful for you guys since you have better quality prints than Library (we did submit a couple requests to the Maker studio as well). Although we still don't have a picture, we will upload it later. You are awesome, thank you
For our MSE Senior Design Project, we decided to create a wear tester, since we did not have the equipment in the lab. The wear tester allows us to attach a sample to the bottom of the flat end and have it grind against a sheet of aluminum to evaluate the amount of wear that the sample experiences over a period of time. Innovate Labs was able to help us print out our initial and final iterations of the wear tester in a quick manner, so that if any changes were needed, we could get it printed easily. Overall, we are happy with how the wear tester came out to be, and big thanks to Innovate Labs for assisting us!
How do we perceive sacredness? This age-old question has captivated thinkers across disciplines, from philosophers and anthropologists to psychologists and neuroscientists. In this study, we aim to experimentally explore how people experience sacredness in various sacred spaces in virtual reality. To achieve this, we are leveraging advanced technologies such as wearable sensors to capture bio-physiological data and an eye-tracking system for detailed analysis of visual attention. Access to high-quality virtual reality systems with integrated eye-tracking capabilities is often prohibitively expensive, posing a significant challenge to our work. However, thanks to the generous support of Innovate Lab, which provided the essential technology for this project, we were able to bring this study to life.
We developed a method of acoustic drone detection using low end equipment as a proof of concept. The only available acoustic array for drone detection costs $57k and the prototype we are working on costs less than $200. The purpose of this project is to provide an alternative method of drone detection because RF methods are becoming obsolete as autonomous drones become more frequent. The drone we borrowed from innovate labs was used for audio data collection which we then used to train our machine learning model.
The lab helped me with printing out an adaptive computer mouse holder with the printing material of my choice. The students at the lab also cleaned out the excess printing material and created a smooth fine surface to avoid skin injuries since this product requires continuous contact with my hand.
I created a Spider-Man face shell as a personal project for an upcoming Halloween. The purpose of the face shell is to provide a comic- or screen-accurate silhouette for the Spider-Man mask, while also distributing the pressure from the tight mask evenly, making it more comfortable to wear. Face shells are commonly used in live-action adaptations of Spider-Man, so I wanted to use one for my own costume to make it as accurate as possible. Innovative Lab helped me achieve this by allowing me to print my design using one of their 3D printers. Initially, I encountered difficulties with the print being too large, but with their assistance, I was able to adjust the size by cutting the print into several smaller pieces.
