Remote Realistic Interface Experimentation Using the Emona Datex Board

Past work on remote experimentation with the Emona DATEx Board largely interacted with only one experiment already fixed by cable hardware at the remote end. This can be very restrictive and inflexible. In this paper, remote experimentation is being designed for the board in such a way that experiments can be altered and reconfigured by students through remote node to node cable connections. Remote reconfiguration of the circuit for multiple experiments on the actual Emona DATEx is facilitated through the use of a National Instrument (NI) SCXI 1169 100-channel switch array and a web service implemented with C# that allows the switches in the array to be shared by multiple labs. Data acquisition is achieved through a NI USB-6215 DAQ card controlled by a C#.NET experiment engine working hand in hand with a custom-built LabVIEW DLL for each experiment. The client of the lab is an exact replica of the Emona DATEx board with all its controls (switches, knobs and connection nodes) activated programmatically such that they can be controlled remotely through a webpage. It is implemented using JavaFX 1.3. In this paper, we have considered the iLab implementation of four basic telecoms experiment (Amplitude Modulation, AM Demodulation, DSBSC Modulation and DSBSC Demodulation) but we have used the Amplitude Modulation lab as a specific case study. It has great potential for students in Communications Engineering. The lab is built on the iLab Shared architecture, which provides a framework for rapid remotelab development and deployment, and uses a three-tiered architecture comprising Client, Service Broker and Lab Server. It is built on the NI Elvis System and Emona DATEx add-in module which is fully integrated with the NI ELVIS platform. The beauty of this work is that even though the student’s interface is the replica of the Emona board, the art of actually making realistic and visible virtual cable connection remotely will add to improved pedagogy and understanding. The technology and issues concerned with the development and usage are discussed. Furthermore, the experience gained in developing, testing and using the system, as well as feedback from students are also presented.