October 2004 - Vol 64, No.2 - International Technology and ...

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FEATURE ARTICLE2. Identify how many risers andtreads will be needed. Note thatin a straight-run stair there isalways one more riser thantreads.3. Identify the size of the risers andtreads.4. Use a piece of 8.5 x 11" paper tolay out and sketch the plan andelevation views of a plain stringer,which has a total rise of 3' 9 1 ⁄2"and a total run of 4' 4 1 ⁄2" using ascale of 1"=1' 0".5. Use tools to construct your designfrom pieces of cardboard at halfscale.6. Turn in your sketches,calculations, and completed stairdesign.#2 – L-Shaped Stair DesignAfter receiving the handout from yourteacher, you should:1. Calculate the slope and overalllength of each stringer.2. Identify how many risers andtreads will be needed.3. Identify the size of the risers,treads, and landing.4. Use a piece of 11 x 17" paper tolay out and sketch the plan andelevation views of an L-shapedstair design, which has a total riseof 9' 1 1 ⁄4", using a scale of 1"=1' 0".5. Use tools to construct your designfrom pieces of cardboard at thesame scale.6. Turn in your sketches,calculations, stair design, and stairmodel.Materials:• Architect’s scale, paper, pencil,calculator, eraser, cardboard,x-acto knife, glue gun and glue,and safety glassesDirections Part 2:Using the World Wide Web, yourschool library, or home/buildingmagazines, search for informationrelated to the history of stairs,different stair designs, constructiontechniques, architects and theirinfluences, and technologicaladvances of materials. Using a pieceof poster board, create a pictorialdisplay of your work. Your displayshould also contain the sketches andpictures of the stair designs youcreated during the first part of thisactivity. Be creative!Directions Part 3:Compose and format a one-page paperon the history of stairs and thedifferent designs that are used inresidential, commercial, or industrialstructures.Evaluation:Stair Designs #1 and #2 (each)•Mathematical calculations• Sketches• Stair modelPoster Board Display• Number and quality of pictures• Design and layout• CreativenessWritten Paper• Overall° Readability° Composition° Spelling° GrammarFollow-up Questions:1. What is the relationship betweenslope and the overall run and riseof a stair design?2. What materials are mostcommonly used to constructresidential stairs? Why?3. What tools would be needed tobuild a complete set of stairs?4. Where else in construction-relatedprocesses would slope andPythagorean Theorem be used?Why?5. List and name three different stairdesigns and describe theirpurposes.Become a a member of of the the Council on on Technology Teacher Education and andreceive professional yearbooks that that can can enhance your your teaching. teaching.Recent editions include:• 2000 Technology for the 21st Century• 2001 Appropriate Technology for Sustainable Living• 2002 Standards for Technological Literacy• 2003 Selecting Instructional Strategies for Technology Education• 2004 Ethics for Citizenship in a Technological World• 2005 Distance Learning or the 21st Century; Perspectives and Strategies• 2006 International Technology Teacher EducationMembership form can be found online athttp://teched.vt.edu/ctte/HTML/Membership.html12 October 2004 • THE TECHNOLOGY TEACHER
TEACHING MACHINES TO THINK FUZZYAre you a fuzzy thinker? If you have a human brain, you are.Now scientists are trying to teach computers to think likefuzzy-thinking people, instead of like purely logical machines.To a simple machine, a statement is true or false. A light is onor off. The answer is yes or no. But to a human, a statementmay be partly true. A light can be off, dim, bright, or anythingin between. And the answer to a question can be “sort of.”Computer scientists call this kind of information processing“fuzzy logic.”Fuzzy logic programs for computers make them more human.Computers can then think through messy situations and makesmart decisions. It makes computers able to control things theway people do. Fuzzy logic has been used to control subwaytrains, elevators, washing machines, microwave ovens, andcars. Pretty much all the human has to do is push one button,and the computer figures out what to do, how fast, howmuch, and for how long.Another really important use for fuzzy logic is in robots. Somerobots, especially those that work in space, must navigateand solve problems on their own. For example, two or morespacecraft can work together by flying in a very precise formation.Spacecraft formations can be used as large telescopesto look for planets around other stars. Or they can takepictures of the same scene on Earth’s surface, looking at itfrom different angles through the atmosphere. Or they cantake 3-D pictures of the clouds. Such spacecraft can use fuzzylogic to keep their positions in the formation.Earth Observing-1 is a NASA New Millennium Program spacecraftdeveloped at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Ithas been testing an advanced new formation flying systemthat uses fuzzy logic. It has been flying in formation withanother satellite, called Landsat-7, for over three years now. Ithas proven that this new technology works well and can beused on many future space missions.The EarthObserving-1satellite flies information behindthe Landsat-7satellite, takingpictures of thesame groundalmost exactlyone minute later.Your Assignment (Should You Choose toAccept it) . . .Here’s a story about teaching a robot to think like peoplethink—fuzzily!You are part of a crew flying two non-identical orbiting spacecraftto gather important science data about planet Zorgon.Spacecraft “Astroblog” and spacecraft “Beemeup” move inthe same orbit, with Beemeup maintaining its station exactly20 meters directly behind Astroblog throughout the mission.You are the Orbit Pilot for Beemeup. Your job is to continuouslykeep your spacecraft exactly 20 meters behindAstroblog throughout all orbit maneuvers.The SituationYour job won’t be easy. Irregularities in the upper atmosphereof Zorgon and differences between the two crafts in mass andin surface friction cause the speed of each spacecraft tochange in different ways as they orbit the planet. In additionto that complication, Astroblog may occasionally changespeed intentionally to accomplish the mission objectives.Your spacecraft, Beemeup, has a range finder. It can detectthe distance to the spacecraft it is supposed to be following. Itdisplays the difference from any pre-set, target distance as an“error.” When set to 20 meters, for example, if the target is 20meters away, the range finder displays “0” error. If the targetcomes closer than 20 meters, it displays the error (actual distanceminus 20 meters) in meters “too close,” or m tc . Forexample, if the target is only 18 meters away, the range finderwill show the error as 2 tc . If the distance becomes greaterthan 20 meters, the error is shown inmeters “too far,” or m tf .The workstation for Beemeup’s orbitpilot has a slider bar control for theforward and reverse thrusters onthe spacecraft. The control handleslides along a scale with threemain positions: “Forward Thrust,”“Stop Thrust,” and “ReverseThrust.” Also, continuous scalesare marked off from Forward toStop (100%F to 0%) and fromStop to Reverse (0% to 100%R).Your on-the-job-training manualfor station-keeping in orbitalspace shows two methods:
Page 1: OCTOBER 2004 Volume 64, No. 2NUCLEA
Page 5 and 6: IN THE NEWS & CALENDARWhat is the T
Page 7 and 8: November 17-19, 2004DeVilbiss, Bink
Page 10 and 11: TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS STANDARD
Page 12 and 13: FEATURE ARTICLEscience. Dissertatio
Page 16 and 17: Method 1: BASIC navigationThe appro
Page 18 and 19: or less important, depending on wha
Page 20 and 21: From IDSACLUSTERING STUDENTS TO EVA
Page 22 and 23: IDSAan item is selected for deletio
Page 24 and 25: RESOURCES IN TECHNOLOGYFigure 1 sho
Page 26 and 27: RESOURCES IN TECHNOLOGYcosts of ren
Page 28 and 29: When each team had its car runningt
Page 30 and 31: Request for Special RecognitionNomi
Page 32 and 33: FEATURE ARTICLEFigure 1: Summary of
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Page 36 and 37: Table 2: Data on the Status of Tech
Page 38 and 39: Are Your Students BecomingTechnolog
Page 40: This series of activity guides is d

October 2004 - Vol 64, No.2 - International Technology and ...

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