CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
D49er
Men’s volleyball head coach Alan Knipe got a fiveyear contract extension Monday, for the full story see page 8.
VOL. LXVIX, ISSUE 76 | MAY 2, 2018
TECHNOLOGY
Tour the tech floor Human Performance and Robotics Lab showcases robots and simulations. By Jessica Jacobs Staff Writer
Photos by Hunter Lee | Daily 49er
Along with 19 community organizations, residents of Long Beach, joined in support of the May Day March as they made their way to city hall.
MARCH MY WAY By Hunter Lee Photo Editor
“Resist state violence! Rise up for our communities! Reclaim our power!”
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his chant was shouted by over 200 Long Beach residents, as they filled the streets of downtown Long Beach in support of the International Workers’ Day march. With a coalition of 19 community organizations, the event rallied community members to stand united for issues including workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights and rent control. “Through our hardships we stand here in support of fair treatment,” said George Funmaker, a member of Red Earth Defense, an indigenous-led group which focuses on issues affecting marginalized communities. The march began at Cesar Chavez Park Tuesday and featured a number of community advocates and speakers. For more on May Day, see page 2.
Two young boys hold a sign and megaphone to help with the chants and rally support of community members.
Need a hand? A functioning robotic arm will be one of several devices on display at an on-campus lab for two days next week. The Staff Council of Cal State Long Beach will open up its Human Performance and Robotics lab to the public Monday, May 7 and May 9. Students can visit the lab from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. in room 115 of the Engineering and Computer Science building. According to the department’s website, the group’s projects range from musculoskeletal modeling to robotic control. There are approximately seven active projects available to view in the lab. However, according to mechanical engineering masters student Joaquin Martinez, only three of them are ready to be showcased. The projects include a lower body exoskeleton simulation, which is controlled with a software called opensim, a virtual reality simulation and a haptic feedback program. The virtual reality project consists of a robotic arm that reflects the motions a user makes in the world modeled in Unity, a game engine. This project’s goal is to show the capabilities of VR technology. It was created by John Abella, a graduate student in mechanical engineering. The lower body exoskeleton simulation was made by Martinez, mechanical engineering graduate student; Ricky Whisman, mechanical engineering major; and Maya Martinez, biomedical engineering student. According to Maya, this model will allow designers to analyze how the lower body exoskeleton affects a person who requires assistance to walk so they may “tailor the device capabilities to their target audience.” The third project will be the haptics simulation, a sensor that applies force through touch communication, created by Elliot Recinos, a graduate student in mechanical engineering. This project creates a source of force-like vibrations. “It allows a user to physically interact with a computer environment and physically feel the environment, dynamic and rigid,” Joaquin said. “You can touch a wall in a computer game and feel the wall in real life through a haptic device.”