VISSER-Versatile Instrument System for Science Education and Research(A collaborative program to enhance Philippine education)

PHOTOS & DESIGN BY RUE MOJICA

“The only source of knowledge is experience”.

Participants

Dr. Giselle Concepcion, UP – VPAA Dr. Aura Matias, UPD- Dean COE Dr. Joey Balmaceda, UPD- Dean COS Dr. Laura David, MSI UP Prof. Nel Altoveros, Deputy Director, IMSP, UPLBDr. Giovanni Tapang, Asso. Dean and NIP, UPDProf. Percival Magpantay, EEE UPDProf. Romarie Lorenzo, EEE UPDDr. R.D. Mel Gomez, ECE Department, UMD

World Bank Data (government spending per year in education)Phil: $138 Thailand: $853 Singapore: $1,800 Japan: $5,000.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.htmlres=9807E6D71031F936A1575BC0A96F9C8B63

Phil: 1,100 mins (per week)Brunei: 810 minsSingapore: 540 minsMalaysia's: 360 mins

Phil Rank in Global Competitiveness report: 2011: 112th out of 139 2012: 115th out of 142.

Why?1. Insufficient science equipment; Teachers resort to oral

instructions in lieu of manipulative materials.2. Lack of science rooms (even in science high schools).3. (Some) Principals lack the basic training in science.4. Science instruction is done incidentally; concepts

incorporated in English.5. (Some) Teachers lack the basic science information and

training.6. (Some) Teacher training schools do not give emphasis in

science as a subject.

www.interaksyon.com/article/25983 March 4, 2012

Proposed Solution• Start a program to develop low-cost

multipurpose instrumentation and laboratory modules for Philippine secondary schools.

• Hardware is a handheld, microcontroller controlled unit, working with a wide assortment of plug&play sensors and probes.

• Open source system to allow 3rd party developers to contribute “apps”.

Program Implementation• Development is over 2 years• Begin with 2-week summer workshop to

introduce the idea to the smartest and brightest recruits and students of the UP system.

• They will be trained and will develop prototype laboratory modules.

• Activities will followed by an intensive development, testing, validation, manufacturing, documentation and deployment phases.

Benefit to Higher Education

• Participants will gain extensive knowledge of microcontroller systems, electronics, mathematics, oral and written communications;

• Exposure to design processes under realistic constraints including economics, political and ethical dimensions;

• Instill spirit of working for the common good.

Laboratory Modules

ManufacturingTeacher

Instructions

PrototypeContent Creation

Workshops to

Introduce VISSER

Project Development Plan

3 rd Party Developers

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Sample Concept Unit- Visser Handheld

Features:• Affordable, Versatile, Compact • Easy to learn and Intuitive• User-friendly, Durable• Upgradable and User driven content• Modern and Sophisticated• Open Source Environment

Visser Handheld Prototype Main Control Unit

LCD display

function buttons

6 channelinput sensor

ports SD cardmemory

USB port

ac/dc 2.1 mm jack

Size:4.5”x3.5”x1”

Multi-functional Sensors

camera

ultrasonic distance sensor

digital thermometer

digital scale

9V battery

main control unit

(Sample applicable laboratory topics are in appendix).

Operation Modes1. Standalone Mode: A multifunctional instrument, functions as:

Clock/Stopwatch/Timer, Ruler, Weighing scale, Digital thermometer, Barometer, Pressure sensor, Force sensor, Camera, Audio recorder, DC volt meter, Magnetometer, Inclinometer, 3-axis Accelerometer, …

2. Data logger mode:Simultaneously data acquisition from 6+ inputs, with

time stamp and up to 56,000x per second sampling rate

Expansion Features

1. Configurable to activate relays and actuators, connect and interact with Internet, Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth, Xbee RF protocols, GSM network2. Interconnection to form sensor arrays.3. User-programmable.

(Think of it as a smartphone for Philippine labs)

The Opportunity: Enhancing Education and Tapping into Filipino’s Ingenuity

• Excellent opportunity exists in the Philippines to design and develop home grown content-driven system to alleviate lack of labs in secondary schools and modernizing them.

• We will tap the Filipino’s creativeness and resourcefulness to develop low cost but sophisticated instrumentation to benefit the Filipino people.

Current Support

1.DOST Balik-Scientist

2.UP OVPAA

3.UP Diliman, College of Engineering

4.UP Diliman, College of Science

5.Alexan Corporation

Support is Needed

1.Expertise and review.

2.Financial Investment.

3.Manufacturing Organization.

4.DepEd Connections and Adoption

5.Political Support

Thank you!

Romel D. Gomez, PhDKeystone Professor and Associate Chair for Undergraduate EducationDepartment of Electrical and Computer EngineeringUniversity of MarylandCollege Park, MD 20905 USA

rdgomez@umd.edu

Appendix

Sample ModulesChemistry• Gases:

pressure, volume, temperature, ideal gas law

• Thermodynamics: heat capacity, heat transfer, cooling and heating rates, latent heat

• Electrochemistry: ionic concentration, acidity/alkalinity (pH), voltammetry, energy conversion, spectroscopy

figure: chemlabs.bris.ac.uk, : ithaca.edu,

Biology

electrical nerve stimulation, action

potential measurements, principles of

sonogram imaging,

Sample Modules (cont.)

Environmental Sensing

ion/pollutant concentration of drinking water

barometric pressure and weather sensing

Weather Science

pressure and air temperature sensing, rainfall

levels, ocean/water temp, air speed, earthquake

detection

Figures: chemlabs.bris.ac.uk, shutterstock.com

Physics, Mechanics:

free fall, inclined plane, rotation, periodic

motion, pendulum, impulse, forces, acceleration

Sample Modules (cont.)• Optics and Waves

interference, diffraction, encoding, amplitude

modulation, acoustic waves and resonance

• Electronics and Electromagnetics

measurement of voltage, voltage division,

series and parallel circuits, periodic

waveforms, capacitive discharge, transient

signals, magnetic field sensing, DC power,

photovoltaic cells

• Fluids

pressure and air flow, Bernoulli’s principleFigures:hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu, opticasoftware.com, shutterstock.com, springwaterone.com

Sample Modules: (cont.)

• Robotics:

automation, sensing and actuation, open

loop closed loop feedback implementation

• Signal modeling and processing:

discrete Fourier Transforms, DSP, PID

controllers

Many more …

Figures: http://robotics.unibg.it, assignmenthelp.net