Distance and Self-Paced Laboratories based on Internet Remote

Experimentation

Distance and Self-Paced Laboratories based on Internet Remote

Experimentation

C. C. Ko, B. M. Chen and K. C. Tan

Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringNational University of Singapore

Singapore 117576

Email: elekocc@nus.edu.sg

URL: http://vlab.ee.nus.edu.sg/vlab

Coupled Tank

Frequency Modulation

Oscilloscope

Helicopter Control

Robotic Soccer

TopicsTopics

Hardware & Software

Experiments

Feedback and Impact

Objectives

Purpose and ObjectivesPurpose and Objectives

Create a family of physical experiments accessible via the Internet

Explore new paradigms in distance and self-paced learning

Complete learning in science and engineering requires a mixture oftheoretical and practical sessions

Internet based learning in science and engineering is not completewithout experimentation which, in its conventional from, cannot beaccessed from a distance

Conventional and Internet ExperimentationConventional and Internet Experimentation

Some advantages of Internet remote experimentation

Time restricted - difficult to organize for evening part-time students

Resource intensive - equipment, space, manpower, safety

Time limited - difficult to organize a course around an experiment

“Driver-passenger” syndrome - when equipment is shared

Solve most of above problems

Anytime anywhere access by standard web browser

Manual, procedures, etc, accessible at the same time

Some problems with conventional experimental sessions

Design FeaturesDesign Features

Use real instruments in laboratories instead of simulation

Use standard Java-enabled browser such as IE & Netscape

Video/audio streamed in real time to give realistic feedback

Control knobs and buttons designed to operate like real instruments

On-line procedures and manuals

Interactive learning tool to teach functions of knobs and buttons

Internet

NUSNET-III

CircuitBoard

GPIB

DAQ

Instrument Controller

Video Server

Remote PC

WWW Server

Cam

era

Hardware ArchitectureHardware Architecture

NUSNET-III

Internet

Program for Command/Data Transmission

ControlSubmodule ..... Control

Submodule

Command/Data Server Program

Instruments Circuit

Client

www server

LabVIEW

HTTP Server

HTML Pagewith Java appletmSQL Database

Perl

Linux

C

Java-enabledBrowser

Software Architecture and ToolsSoftware Architecture and Tools

Oscilloscope ExperimentOscilloscope Experiment

Learn how to measure frequency and time responses of circuits

Learn how to operate an oscilloscope

Coupled Tank ExperimentCoupled Tank Experiment

Test how various controllers perform when used to maintain waterlevels of two tanks coupled at the bottom

Capable of manual, PID, general state space and fuzzy logic controls

Useful for both research and teaching

Frequency Modulation ExperimentFrequency Modulation Experiment

Learn spectra of FM signals

Learn how to use an expensive spectrum analyzer

Include a version allowing students to view how an existing sessionis being conducted

Helicopter Control ExperimentHelicopter Control Experiment

Learn and test design of helicopter control system

Capable of manual, PID, decoupled PID and state space controls

Overcome safety issue of operating expensive helicopter setupin laboratory unattended

Robotic Soccer ExperimentRobotic Soccer Experiment

Learn robot control principles

Oscilloscope experiment - launched in 1999, and has been servingover 2500 first-year engineering students

Coupled tank experiment - launched in 2000, and has been serving1000 third-year engineering students

Frequency modulation experiment - launched in 2000, and has beenserving 1000 second-year engineering students

UsageUsage

Helicopter and robotic soccer experiments - launched recentlyand currently used in course demonstration

Total of over 40000 visits to website hosting experiments, includingmany from other institutions

University of VirginiaDelft University of TechnologyStrathclyde UniversityPurdue UniversityUniversity of PlymouthOxford UniversityNanyang Technology UniversityNgeeAnn PolytechnicUniversity Of MalayaMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyUniversidad Nacional de IngenieriaThe University of Hong KongUniversidad del BiobioAnna University, IndiaUniversity of AdelaideUniversity of WarwickUniversity of Regina, CanadaSouth China Normal University

Sir Syed University Of Engineering & TechnologyPolytechnic ZagrebMonash UniversityMadras UniversityLoughborough UniversityInstitute of Experimental PhysicsHugh Baird CollegeBTH, SwedenAjman UniversityAdelaide UniversityHokkaido Tokai UniversityAmerican University of SharjahIndian Institute of Technology delhiNarvik university collegeKathmandu UniversityUniversity of AdelaideWaterford Institute of Technology, Ireland

Access from Other UniversitiesAccess from Other Universities

Impact - Coupled Tank Experiment as An Example - 1Impact - Coupled Tank Experiment as An Example - 1

Laboratory session for undergraduates consists of identifying aphysical model for the coupled-tank system based on input-outputdata, as well as designing a PID controller and different fuzzy logiccontrollers for the system

With the Internet remote experiment, each student is now able tocarry out the laboratory according to his/her own pace and schedule

Manual control is especially useful as it allows students to collectreal-time coupled-tank input-output data for model identification andsee that good model identification is essential for good control

Students can interplay or fine-tune the controller parameters and the resulted control performance could be visualised and compared easily

Due to the complexity in tuning the PID controller parameters, the membership functions, and the rule-bases of the fuzzy controller, students are often short of time in implementing their controllers within the scheduled laboratory session of 3 hour

Impact - Coupled Tank Experiment as An Example - 2Impact - Coupled Tank Experiment as An Example - 2

A graduate course on optimal control systems uses the remote experiment in its formal teaching, where students are taughtlinear quadratic regulator (LQR), linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG), H2 optimal and H-infinity control

The remote experiment, available 24 hours a day, enables the course to introduce a new teaching element on actual experimentation

The remote experiment is now used throughout the course homeworkassignments - students have to solve an actual problem on the control of the flow levels in the coupled-tank system using techniques learned in the class, and implement their designs on the actual system through the Internet

Many students feel that it is superb to see that the controllers theyhave designed actually work in the real system

Half the class consists of part-time students from industry, classes are conducted in 3-hour sessions in evenings once a week,and it is impractical to hold regular 3-hour laboratory sessions

ConclusionsConclusions

Experimentation is an essential component of technical education

Internet remote experimentation, available anytime anywhere, provides a possible solution to these problems

It complements actual experimentation, and can give students adeeper self-paced unrestricted learning experience

It also allows a new teaching paradigm, where one teaches aroundan experiment so that students can visualize almost immediately how the principles taught can be applied to real systems

Conventional experimentation is time-limited, resource intensive,difficult to organize for part-time evening students, and lead to“driver-passenger” syndrome