The AKGEC-NI data Acquisition Lab introduces students to state-of-art Data Acquisition techniques & the concept of virtual instrumentation – the powerful combination of flexible software & modular hardware which helps to integrate theoretical concepts with real-world applications. One can acquire data from any sensors like Thermocouples, RTDs, Accelerometer, Strain Gauges, etc; analyze data using NI LabVIEW graphical programming software; and present it using PC based presentation techniques like PDF/excel reports, web publication etc.

The QNET Mechatronic Sensors (MECHKIT) Trainer is ideally suited to teach and demonstrate the fundamentals of interfacing with mechatronic sensors. Developed exclusively for NI ELVIS platform and LabVIEW™ software, the system introduces students to a wide variety of sensors commonly used today, including pressure, flex, infrared, visible light, magnetism and temperature sensors; and techniques and limitations of their practical applications. Students learn the fundamentals of interfacing with mechatronic sensors, including how to:

• collect data from sensors
• calibrate sensors
• use sensors to identify natural frequency of material

• Strain gage
• Piezo electric sensor
• Pressure
• Potentiometer
• Thermistor
• Sonar sensor
• Infrared sensor
• Magnetic field transducer
• Optical position sensor
• Rotary potentiometer
• Encoder
• Push button
• Optical switch
• Light emitting diodes

The NI Instrumentation Lab provides a hands-on design and prototyping platform that integrates the 12 most commonly used instruments – including oscilloscope, digital multimeter, function generator, bode analyzer, and more – into a compact form factor ideal for the lab or classroom. It connects to your PC through USB connection, providing quick and easy acquisition and display of measurements. Based on NI LabVIEW graphical system design software, NI ELVIS offers the flexibility of virtual instrumentation and the ability of customizing your application. NI ELVIS is also an integral part of the NI electronics education platform, combining simulation of circuits and measurements from NI ELVIS instruments inside the NI Multisim capture and simulation environment. Designed with education in mind, NI ELVIS is a comprehensive tool for teaching everything from circuit design, instrumentation, controls, telecommunications, and embedded/MCU theory.

It aims to teach the elementary circuits and core concepts of computer-based instrumentation and analysis of elementary circuits. The students can also use the Lab for their design projects.

The QET DC Motor Control Trainer provides an ideal way to demonstrate the fundamentals of motor control, parameters tuning and haptics. This affordable standalone trainer is exceptionally versatile and can be controlled via embedded or computer control. Students learn how to:

• Obtain the system model analytically and experimentally
• Design a PI-based speed controller to specifications
• Design a feedback system to control position and speed of the servomotor
• Design a robust PI

The system can be used to teach:

1. Microcontroller Control – using the QET DC Motor Control Trainer in conjunction with a Quanser QIC Processor Core and the QICii software. The QICii (i.e. QIC interactive interface) consists of pre-packaged ready-to-use experiments in modeling, speed control, robustness, position control, and haptic explorations.
2. Analog Feedback Control - this can be done using the Quanser Analog Plant Simulator (APS) or any other analog computer including OP-AMP circuits implemented on breadboards. A breadboard is available on the QET DC Motor Control Trainer for students to implement their own analog controllers. In this case, the digital measurement from the encoder cannot be used
3. PC-based Control - using a PC with real-time control capabilities and a data acquisition (DAQ) board

The lab use across multiple courses ranging from introductory circuit design to embedded programming to senior design projects. Best suited for lab-based courses requiring students to prototype a stand-alone electronic circuit or interface control logic to a processor. The wide selection of microcontroller options allow you to teach either 8,16, or 32-bit architectures. Complimentary CodeWarrior™ IDE development tools supports Assembly, C, and C++ programming plus complete real-time debugging. a comprehensive collection of add-on tools that teaches embedded systems using FPGAs, DSPs, microprocessor units (MPUs). The lab empowers engineering students from all disciplines to build embedded systems, whether it is next generation solar car or for autonomous vehicles. With easy-to-use graphical environment of LabVIEW, students can develop complex algorithms. Without spending lot of time on compiling code and other implementation details, data from various sensors and contextual information can be collected and compiled.

The Lab kit also includes Freescale CodeWarrior software that can be used to program the MCUs. In addition, because the board is built for NI ELVIS, educators can use the 12 integrated instruments to test the different parameters, such as operating voltage, and measure the variables; thus, providing the complete design, prototype, and deploy experience they would have in the industry.

The plug-in board includes an integrated HCS12(x)/HCS08 USB Pod. The Freescale modules that educators can plug into this board include MCUs from the family of HCS08, HCS12/HCS12x/DSP, ColdFire processors, and RF transceivers.

• LabVIEW integration with embedded system
• Circuit and Logic Design
• Embedded Systems / Intro to Micros
• Capstone / Senior Project

Robotics and automation are becoming an essential component of engineering and scientific systems and consequently they are very important topics for study by engineering and science students. Furthermore, robotics is built on fundamentals like transducer characterization, motor control, data acquisition, mechanics of drive trains, network communication, computer vision, pattern recognition, kinematics, path planning, and others that are also fundamental to other fields, manufacturing, for instance. Learning these fundamentals can be challenging and fun by doing experiments with a capable mobile robot. The National Instruments (NI) LabVIEW Robotics Kit and LabVIEW provide an active-learning supplement to traditional robotics textbooks and curriculum by providing multiple capabilities in a compact and expandable kit.

Sb RIO robotic kit is small, deployable device that feature a real-time processor, reconfigurable FPGA, and I/O interfaces. Each device is shipped with a complete software stack including I/O drivers, middleware, and support for NI LabVIEW application software. One can customize the devices, which are designed for high-volume and OEM applications that require high performance and reliability, to meet the specific needs of your application helps students to learn to operate robot with the software platform of LABVIEW. The robot can be controlled using controls on LabVIEW front panel and coding can be done in block diagram for various operation

Innovation Lab concept evolved to benefit the students for their experimental and research exposure. The Lab offers a flexible laboratory for the students which can be access from every place. One can get issued data acquisition devices such as My DAQ and My RIO to use at their own places.

In This radio communication technology LabVIEW offer numerous applications spanning from education to research. With ready-to-use teaching solutions, the SDR platform supports RF and communications courses through hands-on laboratory learning with real-world signals. The combination of hardware and software offers flexibility and functionality to deliver a rapid prototyping platform for physical layer design, record and playback, signal intelligence, algorithm validation, and more.

NI USRP-29xx software-programmable radio transceivers are designed for wireless communications teaching and research. Programmable with NI LabVIEW software, the USRP hardware is an affordable and easy-to-use RF platform for rapid prototyping applications such as record & playback, physical layer communication, spectrum monitoring, and more. With the ability to transmit and receive RF signals across a wide range of frequencies with up to 40 MHz of real-time bandwidth and plug-and-play MIMO support, the NI USRP enables a broad range of RF/communications applications covering common standards such as broadcast radio, digital TV, GSM Cellular, GPS, 802.11 (WiFi) and ZigBee®. LabVIEW brings increased productivity with an intuitive graphical programming approach, and m-file script compatibility enabling development of algorithms for physical layer communications.

Under the Wireless sensor network (WSN) technology, Trainee will enhance their concepts in the field of wireless communication. Wireless sensor networks are ideally suited for long-term remote monitoring applications that focus on subjects such as the environment, water quality, structural health, energy quality and consumption, transportation, and machine condition. WSN measurement nodes can withstand outdoor and industrial environments and reliably monitor assets or surroundings to provide enhanced visibility into the overall health of your systems or processes.

The WSN platform can function as a simple, stand-alone wireless monitoring system, or be combined with other hardware components to achieve a complete wired and wireless measurement and control system. Through LabVIEW, trainees can combine NI wireless sensor network devices with other NI platforms to customize and enhance measurement capabilities. Trainee can complement own NI WSN with embedded NI CompactRIO systems, vision systems, or even human machine interfaces (HMIs) to create a fully integrated solution that meets the unique needs of your application.

Wireless sensor network (WSN) platform delivers low-power measurement nodes that offer industrial certifications, reliable networking, and optional weatherproof outdoor enclosures for long-term, remote monitoring applications. The measurement nodes have direct sensor connectivity and a 2.4 GHz radio to wirelessly transmit data to a WSN gateway. Each measurement node offers four analog input channels and two to four digital I/O channels that you can configure for input, sinking output, or sourcing output. With graphical NI LabVIEW software, one can easily configure their network, collect measurement data, trigger alarms through SMS or e-mail, and even view monitoring data within a Web browser.

NI RIO technology helps trainee to design data acquisition, communication, and control hardware with the same ease of use and flexibility of NI LabVIEW graphical programming. Using RIO technology, one can rapidly create custom hardware circuitry with high-performance I/O and unprecedented flexibility in system timing control.

RIO technology, found throughout the NI platform, includes NI PCI and PXI R Series DAQ devices, the compact vision system, and CompactRIO. Use the R Series DAQ devices for custom data acquisition or real-time I/O applications. Develop custom FPGA logic on the compact vision system to add triggering, pulse-width modulation signals, or custom communications protocols to machine vision application. For maximum flexibility in embedded measurement and control applications, use the CompactRIO family, which provides the benefit of modular FPGA-timed I/O with built-in signal conditioning and direct signal connectivity.

CompactRIO is a real-time embedded industrial controller and acquisition system. The CompactRIO system’s rugged hardware architecture includes I/O modules, a reconfigurable FPGA chassis, and an embedded controller. Additionally, CompactRIO is programmed with NI LabVIEW graphical programming tools and can be used in a variety of embedded control and monitoring applications.

The cRIO are commonly used as headless systems (without a user interface) which are designed to run in a confined space, under harsh conditions. A cRIO can also be connected to a host PC which can be used for supervisory purposes and for displaying logged data. There is also the option of using a third-party module such as the MH-LCD-216 or an external LCD in order to add a user interface. Newer, high-performance cRIOs also have built-in VGA graphics which can be connected to a monitor for observing operation. Due to these factors, cRIOs are ideal for defense and mining applications, but they can be used in many other industrial applications as well.

The Image Processing Lab, comprising of NI LabVIEW graphical programming software and NI IMAQ Vision Module, provides mathematical algorithms for 2D signal and image processing. The Lab also adds value to the Digital Image Processing course with easy visualization. You can teach practical image processing applications by connecting the 2D signal and image processing algorithms to real world image signals. By using the set of cameras, lens, light sources and imaging algorithms provided in the Lab, it is also possible to teach the physics of imaging and factors affecting quality of images acquired.

The ease of programming using NI LabVIEW and the many image processing functions incorporated into the NI IMAQ Vision Module enables the implementation of simple and efficient digital image processing algorithms.

Image Processing Lab, comprising of NI LabVIEW graphical Programming software and Gig-E board for image acquisition, provides mathematical algorithms for 2D Image processing and helps student understand the concepts of image processing to develop smart applications.

PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation (PXI) is one of several modular electronic instrumentation platforms in current use. These platforms are used as a basis for building electronic test equipment, automation systems, modular laboratory instruments in science, and the like. PXI is based on industry-standard computer buses and permits flexibility in building equipment.

Using PXI Platforms high-performance and low-cost deployment platform for applications such as manufacturing test, military and aerospace, machine monitoring, automotive, and industrial test. It is a rugged PC-based platform for measurement and automation systems. PXI combines PCI electrical-bus features with the modular, Eurocard packaging of CompactPCI and then adds specialized synchronization buses and key software features

FPGA technology and the NI LabVIEW FPGA Module can perform accurate, high-speed FPGA-based processing on images acquired from Camera Link cameras.

The LabVIEW FPGA Module helps to implement complex FPGA programming without using low-level languages such as VHDL, which drastically reduces development time and eliminates the need for custom hardware designs.

The board can also be used with NI Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS) II/II+ integration, thus providing educators and students with a complete instrumentation suite to build test benches with real-world signals.

LabVIEW FPGA gives developers the ability to more efficiently and effectively design complex systems by providing a highly integrated development environment, a large ecosystem of IP libraries, a high-fidelity simulator, and debugging features. Using FPGA Platform student can do more with their application

• Graphical System Design
• IP Libraries and HDL Code Reuse
• Rapid Algorithm Development