Category: Science

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Art Meets Science Here at American River College’s Design Hub

The Design Hub here at American River College is a strong proponent of multidisciplinary collaboration. At the Hub, team-building across all planes is valued and celebrated. It is a place where the arts and sciences come to eclipse, and the outcome is something truly spectacular.

Artist intern Erika hard at work. Photo by photography intern Angelique Doty

Here, we meet Erika Gonzalez to learn more about about her job as an artist for the Design Hub. Her current project: to paint the cell membrane models for the Science Department.  These little cell membranes required the help of Erika’s excellent painting skills, 3D printing, the Science Department, and 3D modelers to create the cell membrane structure. Erika is the lucky intern who was chosen to complete this project. ARC’s Science Department ordered the models of the cell membranes from Randy Schuster, the head supervisor of all the interns that make up the Design Hub. He has made sure to connect with nearly every department on campus, and runs the Design Hub in such a way that allows ARC’s campus to benefit from all of the hard work, talent, and innovation that comes out of the Hub.

The painted cell. Photo by photography intern Angelique Doty

The diagram of the model was sent from the Science Department to the 3D modeling interns at the Design Hub. They then transformed the structure into a file format that the 3D printers could handle.  From there, the files were transformed into printable structures, and were given to Erika to paint and bring to life. She had to paint each minute crevice in the same way as the 3D printed grain, paying a lot of attention to detail. She is painting the cell membranes with acrylic paint, then sealing it with Mod Podge to prevent the acrylic paint from chipping. This project will be housed at the Design Hub lab room 311, and it will be on display in the Science classrooms. It will also be used as a class reference for the Science Department.  The Design Hub is very proud of the collaborative efforts of our many talented 3D printing modelers, our artist intern Erika, as well as the Science Department. When art marries science and design, the possibilities are truly endless!

 

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Seeing Through the Eyes of the Blind

Robin. Photo by intern Bailey Wineland

Here at Arc we are doing the impossible: Seeing through the eyes of the blind. There are some amazing opportunities that are opening up to students with disabilities here on campus!

Meet Robin, a very special student here at ARC. She is one of the first students on campus to be a part of a very new technology that was introduced this semester: smart glasses for the blind. At first, it may sound like an oxymoron. But these glasses are a tool that will revolutionize campus accessibility for those who are visually impaired.

We met in the cafeteria Starbucks to sit down and chat about how the technology and the program worked, and how it helps her in so many different ways. “What time is it? Oh my gosh! I actually got here on time!!” Robin says as she takes the seat next to me. She continues to tell me that these glasses have made getting places so much smoother. Then, to answer the first question we all want answers to, Robin dives right in to how these glasses work, and what exactly they do.

Smart Glasses. Photo by intern Bailey Wineland

They are called “smart glasses”. Basically, they are a set of glasses that have a camera attached. This camera links up to a device called my-fi, and is also linked to an app on a smartphone. This is where things get interesting: This setup was created by a company called Aira, which has a team of agents who are readily available to assist anyone who presses their my-fi device. “They are seeing what you’re seeing when the glasses are on, and the device is connected. You call them, and they can see what’s around you. You can hold something up to the glasses and they can read that back to you. It’s really a neat device.”

Robin wears this device to all of her classes. She says it definitely makes things easier, going from point A to point B. “I haven’t had any mobility training prior to attending ARC. And now, I’m more interested in getting places when I am talking to these agents. They help me navigate and then I can remember routes on campus that I can eventually take on my own.”

Photo by intern Bailey Wineland

Navigation isn’t the only thing that Aira can assist with, either. These agents can also help with reading things like menus at restaurants, road signs, and even things in class like white boards and rubrics. “The other day I had an Aira agent read me the directions on a pack of fish filets. I got to hear the nutrition facts and the serving size.”

Closing out our interview with Robin, we talked about how important it is to have services like this available to students who are visually impaired. These glasses can help students navigate campus safely and with confidence. We are beginning to see some positive ripple effects from the Design Hub. This is only one of the many projects being spearheaded by the Hub, and we couldn’t be more grateful to be able to help and represent the students of ARC!