Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality (VISIR) for Remote Wiring and Measurement of Electronic Circuits on Breadboard

Abstract

This Paper reports on a state of the art remote laboratory project, so-called Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality (VISIR), VISIR allows wiring and measuring of electronic circuits remotely on a virtual workbench that replicates a physical circuit breadboard. The wiring mechanism is developed by means of a relay switching matrix connected to a PXI (PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation) instrumentation platform. The entire equipment is controlled by a LabVIEW server software, in addition to a measurement server software that protects the equipment by verifying input circuit designs, sent by students, before being executed. The paper addresses other approaches such as remote labs based on Data Acquisition Cards (DAQs), NetLab and RemotElectLab, comparing them with VISIR in order to emphasize its singularity. The technical description, software, operation cycle, features and provided services are discussed, in addition to the feedbacks received by students at several universities, and the encountered drawbacks along with proposed solutions. The paper finally addresses the ongoing and future challenges within the VISIR community including its integration with Learning Management Systems (LMS) and iLab Shared Architecture (ISA), its new hardware version release that is based on LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation (LXI), and its new open platform version that supports federated access.

Using UML Models to Describe the VISIR System

“…They can be integrated with Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Moodle [18] and with social networks such as Facebook [17] to support students accessing them. The major advantages are availability of lab equipment (24/7), taking a small space, and organizing time for using the lab by creating schedules for users [19].…”

Assessing the Remote Engineering Lab VISIR at Al-Quds University in Palestine

“…A usability testing based on survey instruments: At this stage, a survey based on Tawfik et al [3] survey was used to evaluate the VISIR lab. A total of 71 engineering students (34 females and 37 males) enrolled in the course Instrumentation and Control Systems performed the RC filter experiment.…”

“…In this paper, VISIR (Virtual Instrument System in Reality), which is a remote engineering lab, is applied and assessed at Al-Quds University, in the Faculty of Engineering [3]. The assessment was performed in two successive stages:…”

Deployment of a Web-based Control Laboratory Using HTML5

“…For example, iLab [5,6] in the USA , WebLabs [7,8] in the UK, VISIR [9,10] in Spain and other kinds of laboratories using MATLAB and Java [11] in other parts of the world.…”