From online experiments to smart devices

Christophe Salzmann and Denis Gillet

Online experiments have been available for more than a decade. The integration of online experiments to collaborative environments is more recent. The wealth of client application/environments, the versatility of possible interaction protocols/technologies and the needs for more autonomous actions impels the evolution of online experiments to the smart device concept. This paper reviews the evolution of an electrical drive experiment and presented the requirement for turning online experiment into smart devices.

OpenLabs Security laboratory - The online security experiment platform

Johan Zackrisson

For experiments to be reproducible, it is important to have a known and controlled environment. This requires isolation from the surroundings. For security experiments, e.g. with hostile software, this is even more important as the experiment can affect the environment in adverse ways. In a normal campus laboratory, isolation can be achieved by network separation. For an online environment, where remote control is essential, separation and isolation are still needed, and therefore the security implications must be considered.

In this paper, a way to enable remote experiments is described, where users are given full control over the computer installation. By automating the install procedure and dynamically creating isolated experiment networks, remote users are provided with the tools needed to do experiments in a reproducible and secure environment.

A new remote laboratory for the photovoltaic cells study

Petru Adrian Cotfas, Daniel Tudor Cotfas, Doru Ursutiu and Cornel Samoila

Understanding and using the alternative energies represents a priority at European and world level. Thus, the establishment of laboratories dedicated to the research of alternative energies becomes an important perspective in education. In this context, the present paper represents the implementation of a remote controlled lab dedicated to the study of PV cells.

The experiments included in this lab study the important parameters of the PV cells: short circuit current, open circuit voltage, maximum power, series and shunt resistance, efficiency, etc.

The parameters are studied function of the illumination levels, the incidence angle of the radiation, the temperature.

The system used comprises of: two different solar cell, stepper, light source, automatic system for the I-V characteristic raising, thermostat, NI-ELVIS with a DAQ board and LabVIEW

The lab implemented allows the students to remotely study the aspects related to understanding PV cells - an alternative energy source.