Thursday, March 28, 2019

Co-op student creates "bot-tender" on his first work term

By Jillian Smith.

Caleb Dueck, a first work-term co-op student in mechatronics engineering, created not one, but two robot bartenders while working at Eascan Automation in Winnipeg. The pair of robots, one for pouring and one for serving, can pour a perfect pint in just a minute and a half.

Eascan Automation partnered with a local brewery where the “bot-tenders” made their first public appearance last month. Dueck spent hours programming the robots before the launch and said “I was so pleased to see how many people took videos and enjoyed using the robot. What I enjoyed most is when co-workers were impressed. It made me proud of the hard work I had put in.”

Caleb Dueck (at left), his coworkers, and one of the robot bartenders.

When searching for his first co-op job, Dueck reached out to many companies in Winnipeg before securing a job at Eascan Automation. “Though I had to wait longer than I would've liked for this job, I'm very glad that I did. I have learned so much about industrial automation, the different methods and components that are employed, and how to program collaborative robots and PLC's,” said Dueck. Dueck shared that he feels happy to be a part of the University of Waterloo’s co-op program and to have such an impactful and innovative experience in his first work term.   

Dueck’s contributions to his co-op employer don’t end with the robot bartenders. Dueck said, “My next large project is to make a cart that has all the necessary electronic components necessary to run tests on in-house projects. Today I'm off to help at a milk bottling company by programming a servo that will adjust the weight of milk put in.”

Dueck is looking to have a future career in product development, where he can continue to use the skills he has learned at Waterloo and on his co-op work term to help make more physical system designs.

Learn more about Eascan Automation.

University publishes salary disclosure list for 2018

The University of Waterloo has released a list of the 1,556 employees who were paid more than $100,000 in 2018.

Public-sector employers in Ontario are required to publish the list every March since the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act was passed in 1996. Other universities, school boards, hospitals, colleges, municipalities, and the government itself are making similar information for last year public this week.

The $100,000 list includes most of Waterloo's professors, and a number of staff members and senior administrators. It includes people employed by Renison University College, Conrad Grebel University College and St. Paul's University College as well as by the University of Waterloo itself.

In addition to the salary, a figure is given for taxable benefits received by each individual, for such extras as employer-paid life insurance.

Last year's salary disclosure is also available online.

On April 8, discover The Nature of Experiment

In the era of AI and bioengineering, understanding the human implications of experiment is crucial. How is social media feeding into new forms of “intelligence”? What are the philosophical grounds of experimentation?

Join the Waterloo Centre for German Studies at The Nature of Experiment: Intelligence, Life, and the Human, a full-day interdisciplinary workshop featuring keynote speaker Jocelyn Holland from Caltech and speakers from Waterloo on Monday, April 8. Professor Holland will discuss dimensionality and virtuality in the history of thought experiments.

The workshop will approach the intersections of intelligence, life, and the human from a unique perspective, through the concept and practice of the “experiment,” both today and in the past. Mary Shelley’s famous invocation of human experimentation gone wrong, Frankenstein, is more than 200 years old, but remains a vibrant analysis of the human implication of scientific insight.

Please register to attend.

Thursday's notes, this time for sure

Get fit over your lunch break with free Boot Camps. Local certified fitness instructor Tiny n Tuff Fitness is back and will be holding free, lunchtime boot camp sessions for Waterloo staff. All fitness levels are welcome. These sessions will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. from April to October.

Space is limited so please register on Eventbrite. This project is funded by the Staff Excellence fund, administered by the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Staff Compensation.

Here's the penultimate Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" supplied by Health Services Dietitian Sandra Ace:

Claim:  Most people benefit from taking a multivitamin supplement.

Evidence:  While about a third of Canadian adults take a multivitamin at least some of the time, there’s  no evidence to show that they are any more or less healthy than those who don’t take a supplement. A multivitamin supplement can’t replace the benefits of eating a variety of foods recommended by Canada’s Food Guide, which is planned to provide over 50 nutrients needed for good health. You don’t get energy from taking a supplement but you do get energy (measured as calories) from eating foods, which contain carbohydrates, proteins and fats. When you eat nutritious foods, you get vitamins and minerals as well as other vital components like fibre, phytonutrients and essential fatty acids that are not provided by a multivitamin. It is likely that the complex interaction of all of these food components contribute to good health.

While it’s not harmful to take a multivitamin, be realistic that it doesn’t make up for a poor diet.

For some groups of people, specific supplements may be recommended to help them meet their nutrient needs, including women who could become or who are pregnant, adults over 50, vegetarians or people with certain medical conditions such as anemia or osteoporosis. Self-diagnosing your need for anything more potent than a multivitamin is not recommended; taking large doses of some vitamins or minerals can be harmful. It’s always a good idea to talk to your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you have question about supplements.