From: sl2k+@andrew.cmu.edu (Schitt Laowattana)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
Subject: Thai High School Kid
Date: 2 Sep 92 08:49:34 GMT
Article-I.D.: andrew.sedD2Sq00UhWA3xUk1
Organization: Doctoral student, Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA


Dear Khun DJ: I submit this letter to you because it happens to relate
to your field of expertise.
 
Let me introduce VARUN TANSUWAN.
 
He is a 15 year old boy whose father and mather are physicians
pratising medicine in St.Louis. His parents are from Thailand.
They are my neighbor. Varun is the leader of this scienctific project
which won first price in Missouri. I was told by his parent that he
contributed about 80 % to this project.
It just shows that, giving a right environment, Thai boy can be as good
better than anybody.
 
The following is the excerpt from Varun's project.
 
 
Technonlogy Expo 05/02/92 Jefferson City, Missouri
 
        Four 9th grade and two 10th Students from John Burrrough's High 
School submitted two projects into Level-II Robotics and Automation
Display. The first project was a mobile robotic cart that was made
to perform the duties of a gardener. This project consisted of an 
electric powered four wheel cart by Jim Taylor (10), and umbelical 
data and power cord, a relay board, a joystick card for I/O, an 
IBM PS/2 286 and a control program written in Turbo Pascal by 
Johnathan Wiswall(9). The Project was set up to move about in preset 
paths dragging a lawn rake. The program was able to be reset to 
perform different paths and motions. It was also made to incorporate 
manual control by the keyboard's numeric pad. The Gardener had a 
twelve volt power supply and was able to traverse a preset path on 
the floor of Jefferson City High School Gym. 
 
The second project submitted was a wood crafted robotic 
jointed arm assembly. The arm was powered by a twelve volt power 
supply hooked up to three hydraulic sump pumps and an electric motor.
The sensors were hooked up to the same relay board as the pumps but 
received power from a different power supply. The sensors that sent 
input back to the Franklin Ace 1000 Apple II clone consisted of three 
linear potentiometers and two fixed limit switches. They sent data 
back to the computer through the computer's game card and the relay 
board was controlled by the output from the same game card. The 
program which controlled the arm was written in Apple Basic to move 
the arm in a specific range of motion for an indeterminate amount of 
time. The function performed was the retrieval of a wood block from 
a conveyor belt and the transport of the block to a stationary landing
pad. The program used the linear input from the sensors to tell when
the arm was rotated to the right direction and when the arm was to 
perform different functions. The program activated relay switches to
supply the motors with power. The polarity used could also be reversed 
by using a second relay switch in unison. The pumps provided movement 
for the closing/opening of the gripper, the extending/detracting of the 
elbow, and the raising/lowering of the arm. The electric motor was used 
with the limit switches to provide the arm with fixed rotation stops.
The potentiometers supplied the feedback from the arm's elbow, shoulder, 
and gripper. The other practical purposes for such an arm would normally
be duties such as minor assembly or transport of small objects.
The projects were registered by Dan Barton the Robotics I/II/III
teacher. The documents and schematics in the presentation folder were put
together by Chris Spears(10), Brad Burgess(9),  and Kaashif Ahmad(9). The
robotic jointed arm assembly and the Apple Basic programs were made by
Varun Tansuwan(9) and the setup of the relay boards were by Mr. Barton.
At the end of the Expo the students won first place in the Level-II 
Robotics/Automation Display category, and the students each received 
certificates of special recognition. Both Projects that had entered 
together won the plaque for that category and the plaque was later
given to John Burrough's High School.