University of Oklahoma - Sooner Yearbook (Norman, OK)

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Engineers put learning to use Projects sh ow stud en ts learn by solving problems Engineering at the University of Oklahoma is not all calculators and graph paper. Engineering students proved that this year. Projects reanged from a robot that will probably become a metal diplomat for OU, to a machine which helps blind dia- betes patients determine the level of sugar in their urine. The Audio Glucose Tape Tester, built by two OU electrical engineering seniors, performs the important function of read- ing the level of sugar in a diabetes patient and determining if the level is safe or dan- gerous. Formerly, the level of glucose could be determined by blind patients only with the help of another person. With the help of the machine, the patient can become more independent. A test tape in a specially designed slide is inserted into the tester and the audio tester then reads the tape. It remains silent if there is no sugar in the urine. If there is one-tenth percent sugar, the machine will beep once. As the percent- age rises, the machine beeps more often. The idea behind the machine and other projects developed by student engineers is simply to enable handicapped persons to become more self-sufficient. Other OU engineers worked on improv- ing the self-sufficiency of a metal friend of theirs. Talos is a robot built 18 years ago by Iohn Fagan, associate dean of the College of Engineering and a friend for a high school science fair. , Now Talos' components have been updated. To humans that might be like having an overall insides transplant. To Talos, it means getting oscillating blue eyes, solid state components and a micro- processor that gives him the ability to receive a rudimentary command and carry it through. The 5-foot-2, eyes of blue robot is expected to become an ambassador for the OU College of Engineering, not only becaiise robots are a rare and interesting breed, but because he shows that OU 22 ENGINEERS N OA Talos the metal diplomat. engineering students can use what they are learning in the classroom to solve real problems. And anyway, isn't that what college is all about?

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Left: Talos and his redesig- ners Susan Adudell, Carol Hatch, Fred Holmes and Ftay Warren. Below: Michael Swetnam and Janet Carpen- ter demonstrate the glucose tester designed by OU stu- dents. ENGINEERS- 23