SUN FLOWER
the
Students respond to questions about tolerance on campus | PAGE 4
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2015
VOLUME 120, ISSUE 23
THESUNFLOWER.COM
Bots, wearable devices, printers highlighted in Technology Fair BRENNEN SMITH
REPORTER
@brennen19_26
Onlookers watched as junior Joel Trembly gradually moved the Romer arm scanner over a small, plastic object with curvature, holes and raised levels. An instant render of the scan appeared on a laptop next to the arm as Trembly scanned the object. Becky North, the primary organizer of the Technology Fair, beckoned a passive student to come closer while Trembly explained the workings of the Romer arm. The Romer arm was one of about 50 devices presented Tuesday at the fifth annual Technology Fair. The fair “takes [the technology] out of the class and office and puts it here for everyone to see,” said North, who could be found roaming the fair and listening intently to various booths. North said the motto of the fair was “discover it, solve it, share it.” The fair grew out of the faculty-led “Learn More” series in which faculty and staff would share a specific topic, North said. After a few years, North and the Unclassified Professional Senate — a group that gives a voice to about 950 unclassified professional employees on campus — asked themselves how they could make the event into a larger experience and include students. From there, the Technology Fair was created. The first fair five years ago had 20 booths in the ballroom of the old Rhatigan Student Center. Four years later, the fair now has more than 50 representing both student and faculty research. The fair showcased a ping-pong robot, new technologies at the library, new cosmetics for the myWSU portal and even had booths for various businesses that worked with WSU, like the National Institute of Aviation Research. NIAR’s booth showcased four different technologies, one of which included the Romer arm Trembly and senior Cody Stall-
baumer were in charge of presenting Tuesday. Trembly said the purpose of the arm, which is physically arranged much like a human arm, is to scan parts, remodel them using CAD software and then print the new model with a 3D printer. He said it was even possible to scan old, rusty car parts and then reprint them in order to get the car back together. A 3D printer can print parts that can’t be made with a computerized numerical control (CNC) machine because 3D printers are always adding material, but CNC machines are always subtracting, Trembly said. They’re even capable of printing aluminum, stainless steel and titanium. Stallbaumer said NIAR is using Romer arms and 3D printers to scan the parts of an aircraft seat, modify it in CAD so it’s optimal and then see how it works in a crash. The other two devices at the NIAR booth were a zSpace and an oculus rift. Similar to a computer monitor, the zSpace has an augmented display that uses stereoscopic technology to allow the user to see 3D and requires the use of glasses, said senior Eric Corey, who was in charge of the zSpace and oculus rift section of the booth. Corey said the zSpace has a lot of potential for use for things like model previews of a product or running a CAT scan on a patient and then using the zSpace to simulate a dissection beforehand. “It’s hard to define a list of things when you can do anything to it,” Corey said. There were actually two oculus rifts at the fair — one at the NIAR booth and one at a human factors booth. Both had a roller coaster simulation, but the NIAR booth also allowed the user to tour a virtual representation of the millennium falcon. “Look at the cool things we have on campus today,” North said, “Together in one place, regardless of college or discipline.”
Photos by Manny De Los Santos
(LEFT) A member of the NIAR department shows an attendee how to use a handprint scanner during the Technology Fair on Tuesday at the Rhatigan Student Center. (TOP RIGHT) Graduate student Dominic Canare shows an attendee how to place pictures of animals into folders using only his eyes and hand gestures Tuesday. (BOTTOM RIGHT) A 3D printer is one of many items showcased at the fair Tuesday.
TECHNOLOGY FAIR GADGETS & GIZMOS ROMER ARM
OCULUS VIRTUAL REALITY GOGGLES
Low-latency constellation tracking system enables the sensation of presence
Rotation about three perpendicular axes (roll, yaw, pitch)
Six degrees of freedom: up, down, left, right, forward and backward
State of the art displays and optics
Scanner remodels objects using CAD software and sends scan to 3D printer
Crisp, virtual reality audio integrated
Illustration by Amanda Hansen
Lights around Wichita State upgraded to improve safety CHANCE SWAIM
REPORTER
@chanceswaim
Photo by TJ Rigg
University Police responds Monday night to reports of a death at Shocker Hall.
Preliminary coroner’s report rules death in Shocker Hall as suicide TJ RIGG
REPORTER
@tj_rigg
A female student was found unresponsive Monday evening in a Shocker Hall dorm room, and she died at a hospital, said Joe Kleinsasser, a spokesman for Wichita State. Kleinsasser said the preliminary coroner’s report ruled the student died by suicide. He added confirmation of the cause of death will not be certain for some time.
University police were reportedly conducting a welfare check in Shocker Hall when they found the student unresponsive. The student was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. An alert from Shocker Blast went out to students after 10 p.m. Monday to notify them of the death. “Our thoughts go out to the family and those who are affected by this tragedy,” the alert stated.
SEE REPORT • PAGE 5
After being a key issue at campus safety discussions — in response to a string of crimes on campus earlier this fall — lights on the outskirts of campus are being replaced and redirected in an effort to make the area safer. The improvements are the result of a partnership between Westar Energy, Wichita State and the city of Wichita, said Westar spokeswoman Gina Penzig. During a town hall safety meeting earlier this fall, senior Isaac Stine voiced concerns with safety along the north side of 17th Street. “There’s a dead zone where there’s a parking lot,” he said at the time. Stine is a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, located south of campus on Vassar Street. “It’s really a problem area for us right now.” University Police Capt. Guy Schoeder said he has met with Westar to identify and discuss lights that need replaced or
redirected around campus to improve safety. “On Holyoke just south of 17th, on the west side of the street, the light has already been replaced,” he said. Schroeder said several lights on 17th Street from the tennis courts to Hillside on the north side of the street will be replaced. The lights on the south side of 17th Street will be redirected in the direction of campus. The light on the west side of Hillside, just north of the McDonald’s, will also be replaced, and another light is being considered directly north of that light. On the east side of Hillside, north of 21st Street, lights will be added on two different poles, and west of Hillside on 22nd Street near Fairmount Towers, at least one light will be added to a pole there, Schroeder said. “Many of the lights that are off campus, but in the area, can also be redirected in the direction of the campus to help, as well,” Schroeder said.
Some of the replacement lights could be updated as LED lights, Penzig said. Recently, Westar has been upgrading streetlights to more energy-efficient LED lighting, which provide better directional lighting than some of the more traditional street light technology, Penzig said. “Lighting can provide a variety of benefits — making a space more inviting, or making people in that area feel safer — both from an aspect of personal safety to driving safety,” she said. Penzig said there was no definite timeframe on when to expect completion of the project. “This is great news and I appreciate the action steps that are being taken,” stated Ted Ayres, director of Community Engagement and Opportunity, in an email. “This kind of collaboration and teamwork — involving the City, the community, the University and industry — is how we get positives accomplished.”