University of Genoa, Italy Department of Biophysical and Electronic Engineering

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University of Genoa, ItalyDepartment of
Biophysical and Electronic Engineering
Infrastructure and expertise on Virtual and
Remote Laboratories for Electronics

• Domenico Ponta, Anna Marina Scapolla
• ponta, scapolla_at_dibe.unige.it

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Outline

• Presentation of DIBE
• The Identity project team
• Past projects and collaborations
• Tools and materials available for IDENTITY
• Comments on project activities

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DIBE

• University of Genoa
• DIBE Department of Biophysical and Electronic
  Engineering
• ESNG Electronic Systems and Networking Group
• Microelectronics
• Computer Architecture and VLSI Systems
• The Physical Structure of Perception and
  Computation
• Neuroengineering and Bionanotechnologies
• Natural and Artificial Nonlinear Complex Systems
• Signal Processing and Telecommunications
• Applied Electromagnetics
• Interdisciplinay Innovation
• Mathematical Physics

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The project team

• Anna Marina Scapolla
• Domenico Ponta
• Giancarlo Parodi
• Giuliano Donzellini
• Andrea Bagnasco

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Projects and collaborations

• Partner of NetPro (Network Based Project Learning
  in Engineering Education), LeonardoDaVinci
  programme
• Partner of KP-Lab (Knowledge Practice
  Laboratory), Integrated Project, EU 6 Framework
  Programme
• Partner of Ariadne (ET1002, 4001 pioneering work
  on metadata and knowledge repositories)
• Partner Tethys (PIC INTERREG III, Repository of
  learning objects for Mediterranean cooperation)
• Associated partner of the PROLEARN 'Network of
  Excellence' in the WP Online Experiments

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Tools and materials available for IDENTITY

• Digital Design
• Tool
• Proprietary Simulator for Digital Design DEEDS
• Set of board-based remote laboratory experiments
• E- learning products
• Set of guided simulation exercises for Digital
  Electronics based on Deeds
• Set of tutorials for the use of Remote Laboratory
• Introductory course (in progress)
• Second level course (in progress)

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Tools and materials available for IDENTITY

• Analog Electronics
• Tool
• Use of a non-proprietary simulator (PSPICE)
• Set of board-based remote laboratory experiments
• E- learning products
• Set of simulation exercises for Analog
  Electronics based on PSPICE
• Set of tutorials for the use of Remote Laboratory
• Course on basic electronic circuits

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Tools and materials available for IDENTITY

• All the above Learning Material is now delivered
  through the MOODLE Learning Management System
• Moodle is a defacto standard in LMS and has been
  adopted by our university
• It offers facilities for
• User management
• Student assessment
• Cooperation/communication
• Full coverage of the pedagogical aspects

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Tools and materials available for IDENTITY

• Virtual and Remote Laboratories
• Proprietary Simulator for Digital Design DEEDS
• Remote laboratory foe electronics ISILab

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DEEDS Digital Electronics Education and Design
Suite
Digital systems simulation tool specifically
designed for educational applications.

• The Deeds suite is composed by three simulators
• combinational and sequential logic networks,
• finite state machine design,
• microcomputer interfacing and programming at
  assembly level.
• http//www.esng.dibe.unige.it/Projects/Netpro/Deed
  s/index.htm

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DEEDS The browsers

• The Main and the Assistant Browsers are opened,
  showing an index page (main) and a project
  assignment) (assistant)
• All text and objects in the page can be Active.
• By clicking on the schematics, the circuit is
  loaded in the Digital Circuit Simulator, and can
  be tested or modified

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DEEDS The d-DcS Digital Circuit Simulator with a
Timing Window
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DEEDS - The d-FsM Simulator FSM defined by an
ASM chart
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DEEDS The d-McE mC Component
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DEEDS The d-McE mC Emulator
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Simulation of a complex circuit with logic, FSM
and Microcomputer
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ISILab Sharing Instrumentation Laboratories in
Internet

• VLS - Virtual Laboratory Server
• Access control
• Gateway to experiment execution
• Distributor of GUIs for instruments control
• Distributor of documents (theory, assignments,
  etc.)
• RLS - Real Laboratory Server
• Instruments control
• Concurrency management
• Monitor and log

• one portal - many real laboratory servers
• a concurrent multi-user environment
• each workbench serves many students
• instruments are shared among diverse experiments
• choice of test points controlled by the GUI
• a modular and scalable structure

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ISILab Graphical User Interfaces

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The Lab Content Management System

• Hardware
• Circuits under test
• Instruments
• Software
• Instrument Virtual panels
• Measure workflows
• Pedagogical contents (experiment goal, exercises,
  guide lines, circuit diagram)
• User profiling
• Communications (chat, bullettin board)
• Assessments (test, deliverables)

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ISIBoard

• ISIBoard is a specific motherboard hosting the
  circuit boards.

• 8 slots for the insertion of the circuits under
  test
• 19 lines to provide the power supply and the
  connections with the instruments
• 5 lines for power supply
• 3 lines for input signals
• 3 lines for output
• 8 lines for circuit identification

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ISIApplet

• A tool for authoring and automatic generation of
  instrument virtual interfaces, described by
  proper XML configuration files
• full panel customization
• drag and drop facilities
• Java Beans support
• images loading via http
• events management by Wizard
• Only one applet to reproduce different
  instruments virtual interfaces via proper
  configuration files

XML
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ISIAuthor
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1 create a new circuit board and plug it in
ISIBoard
2 describe the experiment
3 edit the instrument virtual panels
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ISILab evolution A Service Oriented Approach

• Exposing instruments functionalities as Web
  Services
• the instrument services offer the functionalities
  of a specific device or of a set of devices that
  can be considered as a unique element on the base
  of their commonalities.
• Thinking the measurement as a process that
  requires invoking instrument web services in an
  ordered sequence.
• This is a workflow and could be exposed as a web
  service

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Remote Laboratories A Service Oriented Approach
(2)

• We are testing
• Instrument web services.
• Composition of measurement workflows.
• The execution service that coordinates the
  operations of the real instruments.
• Lock/unlock.
• Session management.
• Instrument services invocation.
• The prototype has been developed on electronic
  measurement instruments and experiments, but it
  is usable with any kind of devices.
• This approach is also under evaluation in a GRID
  context (Globus Toolkit)

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The Grid-based Architecture
Client side
Web Browser
Portal Tier
Server side
PORTAL
Security Service
Composition Application
Execution Application
Measure-WF Composition Service
Engine Tier
Measure-WF Execution Service
Measure-WF Repository
Measure-WF Manager Service
Resource Tier
Globus Toolkit 4
Instrument Services
Storage Service
Computing Service
Instrument Service 2
Instrument Service 1
Driver1
Driver2
Distributed Storage
Dev1
Dev2
Hw setup
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IDENTITY comments on project activities

• DIBEs main task is in design and development of
  VR-LRC, a learning resources repository to give
  support to students and teachers
• Open issues
• How do we relate to the existing repositories
  (Ariadne, EducaNext..)
• Structure of the VR-LRC (Content management?
  Which metadata?
• Evaluation of efforts necessary to fill the
  repository (hundreds of documents to catalog)
• Interface of VR-LRC with LMSs