Molday, Jrie 29,; '1 ~- TeMi1iankD' Dty- Girl Scout patch gets University influence By Christine Branson For the Daily. 2.5 million Girl Scouts can add a new badge to their sashes - one creat- ed by a University professor. Architecture Prof. Melissa Harris said her work with local Huron Valley Girl Scouts inspired the idea of the new badge. The Huron Valley Girl Scout Council contacted Harris early last year for assistance with designing bathing facilities at Camp Linden. Harris, with her class of architecture students, conducted workshops for approximately 50 girls. The Girl Scouts received the hands-on experience of creating and implementing building designs. "If they didn't like the placement } of the showers or the sinks, they moved them to a better location," Harris said. "It really allowed the imagination to flow, while still learn- ing about architecture." Harris said that observing the girls' enthusiasm while working on the project encouraged her to create a new patch for the Girl Scouts' mil- lions of members. "With the large membership, archi- tecture can now be seen as something for girls as well,' Harris said. Harris said she felt many of the scouts are unaware of the opportuni- ties available to women in architec- ture because the subject is often con- Student M-Card to change this fall STEVE GERTZ/Daily Architecture professor Melissa Harris created a merit badge for the Girl Scouts. Scouts must complete requirements in various categories to obtain the patch. By Jennifer Yachnin Daily Staff Reporter It doesn't slice, it doesn't dice but it can be used to make calls, get cash and gain access to University dining halls. The M-Card - the official identifi- cation for University students, faculty and staff - was originally created to reduce the number of access and identi- fication cards students needed to carry with them, said David Doyle, market- ing and sales coordinator for M-Card. "You could have up to five or seven library cards," Doyle said. "It just made complete sense to go to a single card so students wouldn't have to carry so many cards." While the M-Card is used as a library card, a meal card for dining halls and access key for many resi- dence halls, it also works as a phone card. The card, which features a CashChip, can also be used at a variety of local businesses and as an ATM/debit card when connected to a First of America bank account. "It is a multi-functional card, and the nice thing about that is that most of the features are optional," Doyle said. This November, First of America will become National City Corporation. The bank is required to give account holders a 30-day notifi- cation of the transition. "The notification of that will affect the people that have a First of America account" and not all M- Card holders, Doyle said. "I don't think they're going to do a University-wide notification." Doyle said the University is still dis- tributing the most recent batch of M- Cards, which feature hologram logos "After the first of November we'll have to change all the cards." - David Doyle M-card marketing and sales across the front of the card. "They won't change what is printed on the card until it takes affect," Doyle said. "After the first (of November) ve'll have to change all the cards" by adding the new bank name and ATM logos on the back. There are no plans to redistribute cards to anyone, Doyle said, regardless of whether or not they have a First of America account. "There are 77,000 cards out now," Doyle said. "That would be extremely expensive to re-card everyone." University officials have been considering changing other details of the card, including the holo- grams, which make counterfeiting more difficult. "We're thinking about maybe chang- ing the hologram," Doyle said. "We're looking at different things, maybe the possibility of over-lays that would make the card more durable." Doyle said counterfeiting of the cards has not been a problem at the University. "It's always a possibility, but we've never seen much of it," said Department of Public Safety spokesperson Beth Hall. sidered a man's field. "I realized that architecture is popular among the Boy Scouts, but nowhere in the Girl Scouts' Handbook way architecture mentioned,' Harris said. In order to receive an architecture badge, cadet (middle school) and senior (high school) scouts must demonstrate their interest in the field by fulfilling 12 goals. The requirements are broken into four categories, including skill builders, technology, community service projects and careers. For skill builders, scouts must learn about types of architectural draving as well as create their own design. The technology category requires the scouts to explore various innova- tions in buildings, discover how to make buildings environmentally friendly and make their own structure. To fulfill the community service factor, scouts analyze construction in their communities and attempt to solve the problems they discover. Careers consists of making portfo- lios, visiting architecture professors and preparing presentations about architecture. Karen McClatcher of the Huron Valley Council said the architecture badge provides requirements that allow scouts to advance their skills and knowledge. "Girls get a chance to discover new fields and activities they enjoy," McClatcher said. She added that the pursuit of the patch gives scouts "a new sense of places." 'U, prof. awarded for new invention & Associate Research Scientist Johann Bo'renstein improved on the traditional walking stick for the blind with his award-winning GuideCane. By Adam Zuwerink Daily Staff Reporter For many blind persons, a guide dog is truly man's best friend, providing both navigation and companionship. But guide dogs can cost at least S 14,000, making the familiar white cane the most popular form of navigation. Attempting to improve on the traditional walking stick, Prof. Johann Borenstein, associate research scientist in the epartment of Mechanical Engineering and Applied echanics, has developed a robotic walking stick called GuideCane, which uses sonar to guide the blind around obstacles. Similar in appearance to an upright vacuum cleaner, the GuideCane runs on batteries, weighs eight pounds and con- tains 10 ultrasonic sensors that send out signals in order to detect obstacles and steer the user around them. "I have been doing research in obstacle avoidance for 14 years," Borenstein said. "It occurred to me that the technolo- gy could be applied for the blind about eight years ago." After working with a system called NavBelt in which the wearer receives audio signals through headphones, Borenstein found that the user could not respond in time to the signals received. The breakthrough came with the design of GuideCane, in which the movements of the device can be felt through the hand and directional changes are completed faster and more reliably. During a ceremony on June 6 at Disney World in Florida, Borenstein was honored for his invention when he was pre- sented the Discover Magazine Award for robotics. The Discover Magazine Awards for Technological Innovation were created to celebrate the outstanding innovations of our time and specifically the scientists, engineers, and inventors who too often are the unsung heroes of the technological age. In addition to the Discover award, Borenstein's GuideCane has been featured in many popular magazines and television programs. "I was initially surprised at the first wave of coverage in August of last year," Borenstein said. "The GuideCane was featured in Popular Mechanics, Popular Science and CNN Headline News." Currently in the prototype stage, improvements are still being made. For instance, the GuideCane does not recognize the empty space between table legs or glass doors as actual obstacles. Borenstein said he hopes to have the GuideCane commer- cially available within three years at a cost of around S4,000 - still far below the cost of a guide dog. But the project is currently inactive due to a discontinua- tion of funding and the inability to find a new sponsor. Borenstein said he hopes to find funding in the near future. COMING TO ANN ARBOR! 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