National Instruments Proposal for Engineering Training Equipment
The variety of industry standard software and hardware solutions have been brought to the desktop and laboratories of leading universities globally through our academic product line
Hear what leading educators are saying about NI teaching tools and technology‌ "This combination of NI software and hardware for laboratory use has proven effective for reinforcing theoretical circuit design concepts" - Thomas E. Brewer, Georgia Institute of Technology "Overall, the LabVIEW framework gave students the freedom to take greater control of the hardware controller design process." - Jonathan How, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Overview This proposal showcases the best engineering teaching solution products from National Instruments that are currently in use at thousands of colleges and universities, including many of the most prestigious engineering universities globally. The relevance of technology in a teaching environment from National Instruments is important, as many of the teaching products are specifically derived from industry standard technologies allowing students to in practice become engineers and to experience technology that will be utilized in their job functions in the workforce, post-graduation. Whether it is advanced topics in circuits and electronics, mechatronics and robotics, or the latest communications and RF systems, National Instruments offers a full breadth of tools that are used by engineers worldwide, but also available in the form of teaching platforms that are suitable for the classroom. Not only is using industry relevant tools a key to successful engineering and technical education, it is also the rate of discovery and knowledge that is important, so that future engineers can readily consume technical theory and put it into practice in a lab and project based environment to quickly understand and implement the theory in an advanced engineering setting. The software and hardware tools designed for supporting academic teaching labs from National Instruments are known to be the most effective at gaining interest from students, allowing rapid discovery and then allowing successful applied learning in both project and laboratory level practice.
Technology Scope of Teaching Applications The scope of teaching applications and courses that can be achieved by using National Instrument’s technology is wide-ranging. National Instruments offers hardware, software, and courseware solutions that prepare today’s engineering students to be the innovators of tomorrow. From introductory classes to advanced system design, easily integrate NI tools into existing curriculum or re-envision your teaching lab to add hands-on learning and industry relevance. Below is an overview of the target applications that can be supported and some of the hardware and software choices to effectively teach engineering and technology based topics in these areas. Core Teaching Topics by Subject Matter Introduction to Engineering Sensors and Actuators— LEDs, thermistor, light sensor, motor, relay, speaker, piezoelectric
Interactive Systems— Temperature chamber, environmental monitoring, traffic light controller
Basic Robotics—Line follower, colored object sorting, autonomous vehicle
Sensor Fundamentals— Thermocouples, strain gages, force sensors, signal conditioning
Virtual Instrumentation—Data logging, graphical user interface design, signal processing, graphing
Measurements and Instrumentation Measurement Fundamentals—Statistical error, sampling theory, measurement accuracy, analog-to-digital converter
Circuits and Electronics Analog Circuits— Resistors, capacitors, inductors, power sources, switches, breadboard
Digital Electronics—Logic gates, counters, state machines, Boolean algebra, VHDL
Microelectronics— Diodes, operational amplifiers, BJTs, MOSFETs
Sensors and Actuators— Digital, analog, pneumatic, electromechanical, hydraulic, optical
Student Design—Real embedded systems complete with sensors, actuators, control
Robotics—Motor drives, image processing, localization, planning, navigation
Measurements—Bit error rate, error vector magnitude, constellation plots, eye diagram
RF Fundamentals—Mixing, up/down conversion, harmonics, impairments
Advanced Topics—OFDM, MIMO, synchronization, equalization, channel estimation
Power Electronics—Buck converter, boost converter, rectifier, inverter, PWM
Controls and Mechatronics Control Theory and Design—Model construction, analytical PID, state-space control, estimation
RF and Communications Modulation—AM, FM, PM, ASK, FSK, PSK, QAM
Extended course content for physical sciences, computer science and industrial technology and other engineering disciplines are also available from NI or through our network of partners.
National Instruments Teaching Products Overview LabVIEW (Graphical Programming and System Design Platform) LabVIEW is being used by thousands of students and educators in their classrooms, whether logging data for their lab experiments or programming a robotic device, the ease-of-use of programming graphical is essential skill that every engineering and technical student should be familiar with. LabVIEW is an essential tool that technical employers are looking for in their workers that are coming out of university. At the highest level, LabVIEW developer certification is available for students at a designated “LabVIEW Academy” university, which is a partnership between the university and National Instruments to assign a core curriculum and an achievement test for students centered around LabVIEW for use in their lab projects and what industry professionals attain for developing measurement, control and automation systems. NI ELVIS (Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite) Originally optimized for Electrical Engineering topics, the NI ELVIS II platform has been expanded to become a multi-disciplinary base laboratory platform that allows educators to optimize the student laboratory with a teaching platform that takes students from discovering engineering theory to practical hands-on experience with industry relevant technology. The disciplines and courses that can be utilize include Analog and Digital Circuits and Theory (including simulation), Mechatronics, Physics and Dynamics, Signals and Systems, Control Theory and Simulation,
Bioinstrumentation and Physiological Sensors, Chemistry and Ecology Sensors, Digital/Analog Communications, Fiber-Optic Communications and Power/Green Energy topics. The system allows guided modular experiments based on the theoretical subject matter taken from the classroom to be applied to specific labs. If simulation and circuit theory is an essential part of the Electrical Engineering core curriculum, the ELVIS platform along with NI Multisim, allows a full range of SPICE based circuit simulation tied together with practical circuit labs to reinforce and compare theory with application.
Modularity is key. The variety and breadth of the ELVIS platform allows labs in physics, electronics, mechanical and other engineering disciplines to be utilized on a single modular platform. A top board approach is used to allow alternate experiments to be loaded based on the topics being instructed. The experiment boards typically will come closely coupled with textbooks or NI supported courseware.
Along with the Multisim and ELVIS companion labs, both the Circuits textbook (NTS Press) by Fawwaz T. Ulaby and Michel M. Maharbiz and the Microelectronics Circuits textbook (Oxford University Press) by Adel S. Sedra and Kenneth C. Smith are both very good textbook options that have NI supported Multisim and ELVIS material to fufill a comprehensive lab based Electrical Engineering program. Multisim and ELVIS Based Lab Materials Circuits (Ulaby and Maharbiz) -> http://www.ni.com/gate/gb/GB_EKITANALOGCIRC/US Microelectronics Circuits (Sedra and Smith)-> http://www.ni.com/white-paper/52062/en/ NI VirtualBench (All-in-1 Instrumentation) VirtualBench is the new standard in professional and educational benchtop measurements and should be considered an essential piece of any engineering teaching laboratory. By replacing multiple analog and digital instruments with a single modern unit that is wireless connected to a touch-enabled virtual panel (tablet or PC), university labs can use a versatile and modern approach to performing measurements and collecting data in their engineering laboratories. If automation needs arise, the instrument has a fully featured API interface to LabVIEW.
NI myRIO (University Hardware for Controls Applications) The NI RIO technology is used in our industry grade platforms for embedded control of large machines, industrial or factory control and a variety of deterministic or high-speed engineered control applications. In it’s industrial form, the RIO platform is offered in CompactRIO and the R Series PXI products which are modular and can focus on large scale control and sensory needs. With the NI myRIO platform, the base RIO technology is the same, but the focus is on educational, teaching focused products with many of the same elements. The multiple teaching uses of myRIO include control theory, embedded control systems, mechatronics and mobile robotics. Several teaching application kits are available that include myRIO to serve controls, embedded and robotics disciplines. Shown below are the myRIO, the myRIO with Quanser QUBE-Servo with Inverted Pendulum experiment and the Pitsco TETRIX PRIME kit for NI myRIO, a mobile robotics kit, all of which are available through National Instruments.
NI USRP (Universal Software Radio Peripheral) The NI USRP is a software defined radio device that for education is a flexible and affordable transceiver that turns a standard PC into a powerful wireless prototyping and RF teaching system. Paired with LabVIEW Communications System Design Software, USRP transceivers help
students understand RF and communications protocols and are advanced enough to allow students to prototype a wide range of single-channel and MIMO wireless communications systems. Educators can benefit by allowing communications education to go beyond the traditional limitation of focusing on theory. Now with USRP transceivers, students can gain hands-on experience exploring a communications system with live signals to develop a better understanding of theory and implementation. For researchers, a single low-cost platform can be used to build a complete wireless communications system using the intuitive LabVIEW programming environment that supports multirate DSP for physical layer communications and helps you integrate .m file scripts and C language algorithms. NI myDAQ (Low Cost Education Data Acquisition) Educators can now take student projects and learning beyond the lab and lecture with NI myDAQ, an affordable, student-ready data acquisition device. Designed for portability by students, the unit provides for hands-on experimentation in or outside the lab, with a comprehensive set of instruments. For student project work, the device allows for real engineering and when combined with NI LabVIEW and Multisim software, gives students the power to prototype systems and analyze circuits outside the lecture and lab. Whereas NI ELVIS is positioned as the best laboratory exploration platform, NI myDAQ is a good option for portable, student-based project designs. The NI myDAQ device is often provided to students in certain engineering and capstone classes, in lieu of textbook, or as part of a project fee built into the course. Project expandability. Through a variety of peripherals and system level add-on devices, called minisystems, projects can be developed or specific technical subjects can be explored more deeply with several add-on accessories. NI Academic Hardware Products – Feature Comparison
Below is a chart to view the various high-level features of the 5 major academic hardware platforms from National Instruments. The group highlighted within the box are the best laboratory options. Below is a chart to view the various high-level features of the 5 major academic hardware platforms from National Instruments. The group highlighted within the box are the best laboratory options.
Major Degree Discipline Map to NI Teaching Platform Major Degree Discipline Map to NI Teaching Platform
The scope of teaching applications and courses that can be achieved by using National Instrument’s The scope of teaching applications and courses that can be achieved by using National Instrument’s technology is wide-ranging. National Instruments offers hardware, software, and courseware solutions technology is wide-ranging. National Instruments offers hardware, software, and courseware solutions that prepare today’s engineering students. Although this list is not comprehensive, it shows the major that prepare today’s engineering students. Although this list is not comprehensive, it shows the major courses varioussoftware softwareand andhardware hardwareteaching teaching products from National coursesand anddisciplines disciplines covered covered by by various products from National Instruments. Instruments.
Comprehensive Course Mapping for Courseware and NI Teaching Platform In addition to a general guide, NI can recommend some particular mappings to desired courses and the related laboratory and courseware that support NI technology. Below is a sample course map listing courses and the relevant NI product platforms and supported courseware and lab materials that would apply.
User Solutions and University Teaching References The scope of teaching advancements using NI based technology spans globally. The references below represent a small sampling of actual use cases of NI hardware and software. University of Manchester (UK) In this example, the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the University of Manchester received alarmingly low marks on the 2009 National Student Survey. To address the issue, the school knew it had to engage students with practical course work that would give them the chance to “do engineering.� Lab exercises with NI educational tools improved relevance for students and, after only one year, the school-wide effort raised overall student satisfaction by 31 percentage points.
Rice University (USA) Rice University adjusted their mechanical engineering and material science curriculum to Use industryproven NI LabVIEW software and the NI myRIO device to allow students to actively participate in learning system dynamics and controls concepts using hardware and software that provides industrygrade performance with a studentfriendly user experience. The teaching solutions allowed the instructor to combine the out-of-thebox nature of NI myDAQ with the performance of industry-grade for technology from NI to provide a highperformance lab platform to teach system dynamics and controls concepts.
Imperial College London (UK) The college used NI Technology to create rapid prototyping platform powered by NI LabVIEW software and built with NI PXI RF and FPGA modules for flexibility and reconfigurability in addition to real-time mobile radio system emulation.
Shizuoka University (Japan) A professor, Dr. Motohiko Kimura sought tools that would help his students use the experience they already had to build biomedical systems. He found that NI LabVIEW system design software and data acquisition devices helped to unify software and hardware so that students could see immediate results. With the graphical software, students could program visually in a way more intuitive to them, which made the learning process easier. “All 160 students in the first years of the course could use the tools on their own. They completed projects previously impossible because they had equipment that integrated the mechanical and electrical elements for them, so they could focus on the science,� Kimura said.
Leeds University (UK) The School of Mechanical Engineering in the University of Leeds found that it was graduating largely unprepared students into industry and research. The newly appointed director of student education soon realized that the curriculum was lacking practical course work to solidify textbook theory with real-world applications. The curriculum was reformed to incorporate a scalable hardwaresoftware platform based on National Instruments
teaching tools to make hands-on learning possible throughout the degree plan. Four years after the reform, positive feedback from industry poured in and student employability rose 19 percentage points. To learn more, the table below provides links that describe the solutions in detail and some additional resources on other Case Studies and projects where National Instruments based teaching tools have improved the value of engineering education at the respective institutions. University (Country) University of Manchester (UK) Rice University (USA) Imperial College London (UK) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) Shizuoka University (Japan) Leeds University (UK) UC San Diego (USA) Loughborough University (UK) University of Oxford (UK) Loughborough University (UK) University of California at Berkeley (USA) Royal Holloway, University of London (UK) Lund University
Application Electrical Engineering Labs Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science
Link / Source http://www.ni.com/landing/118/en/ http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-15742
Communications Teaching and Research
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-15646
Mechanical Engineering, Robotics
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-13938
Biomedical Engineering
http://www.ni.com/pdf/products/us/Saving_the_World_One_Stud ent_at_a_Time___A_Guidebook_for_Engineering_and_Science_Ed ucators.pdf
Mechanical Engineering
http://www.ni.com/landing/124/en/
Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics Robotics, Mechatronics, Manufacturing Engineering Physics Labs Green Energy, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Online Teaching Physics Industrial Engineering,
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-14437
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-16755 http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-16743 http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-16721
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-16273 http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-16253 http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-16165#
(Sweden) University of Southampton (UK) Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) University of PĂŠcs (Hungary)
Computer Science, Electrical Engineering RF and Communications Electrical Engineering Labs
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-16221
Control Engineering
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-14543
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-11164
National Instruments Tools for Powering Applied Research Leading researchers around the world rely on the NI platform to accelerate innovation and discovery in a variety of applications. Several resources below are available to showcase the breadth of NI based research applications and to help match the tools that can help realize theories into practice. Competitive NI Grant Funding Each year, NI issues a call for proposals in a competitive research grant funding process where leading professors and researchers submit their ideas on how they would use NI technology to fulfill their research. The top selections are reviewed by National Instruments engineers and leaders and several grant awards are issued globally in the form of NI software and hardware to the winning submissions. Through this process we see fulfillment of great ideas that can impact the success of the leading research scientists as they explore and put discovery into practice using National Instruments tools.
University Research References The entire NI products from PXI to RF and some of our core modular instruments and DAQ products are leading research advancements at major global research institutions. The references below represent a small sampling of actual use cases of NI hardware and software.
Harvard University (USA) Researchers with the Lieber Research Group, which is in the Department of Chemistry at Harvard University, used the PXI platform to create a virtual, high-channel-count, lock-in amplifier for nanotechnology research. By using National Instruments LabVIEW software and a multichassis PXI solution they developed a highly flexible and compact lock-in amplifier to help detect specific bio-molecules/viruses using nanowire field effect transistor (FET) arrays.
University of Wisconsin (USA) Researchers build a system using the modular NI RIO platform to fulfill research in the Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) engine under transient conditions. Using the NI RIO open platform and precision engine position tracking gave the research team full autonomy over combustion timing, throttle control, EGR levels, turbo boost, swirl control, and fuel injection, which is critical to understanding how the RCCI system works. Using the NI based Engine Control System, the team was able to rapidly calculate and process in-cylinder pressure data for use as the feedback parameter in controlling combustion phasing.
University of Leeds (UK) Researchers were challenged in developing a realistic, reliable, and reconfigurable testing environment to advance and improve a novel heart assist device without the need for animal testing. Using LabVIEW and NI CompactRIO, researchers created a standalone hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing environment that combines a physical mechanical heart with a circulatory blood flow model to create an end solution that physically and hemodynamically replicates in-vivo models.
University (Country) Kingston University (UK) Multimedia University (Malaysia) Virginia Tech (USA) Harvard (USA) Institute of Marine Research (USA) AGH University (Poland) University of Wisconsin (USA)
Research Area
Link / Source
Rapid Prototyping, Teaching Labs
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-14828
Wireless Protocols, RF
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-13822
Robotics Nano Technology Underwater Marine Study Semiconductor, Manufacturing, Undergraduate Engineering Education Automotive / Engine Research
http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-812 http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-790 http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-748 http://www.ni.com/pdf/products/us/Students-Today-CuttingEdge.pdf http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-14295
Additional teaching and research case studies that use NI tools can be found at:
http://www.ni.com/case-studies/ NI Week 2016 Information The 22nd annual NIWeek conference presented by NI begins August 1 in Austin, Texas, and brings together the brightest minds in engineering and science. More than 3,200 innovators representing a wide spectrum of industries, from automotive and telecommunications to robotics and energy, will discover the latest technology to accelerate productivity for software-defined systems in test, measurement, and control. For educators, a special NI Academic day is given with feature speakers and educators sharing their highlights of using NI based tools in their academic teaching and research endeavors.
NI Products and Software Options NI Software and Licensing National Instruments provides flexible software licensing for its LabVIEW and Multisim platforms. The best option for full-scale adoption at the university level is the NI Academic Site – Campus License which can include separate options for both LabVIEW and Multisim and also can be bundled with a research use license, if academic research is being performed at the same campus. Students can purchase student licenses separately, or the typical option for student use, is to have Academic Site License cover the student install option where students are free to use the software for academic purposes on their own computers.
NI Laboratory Configurations Below are some sample lab configurations based on the discipline and subject matter to be taught. These vary by the number of students and also by the specific courses being taught. Best Teaching Licenses for Teaching Application, Campus-Wide Part Number
Description
782923-3523
NI Academic Site License – LabVIEW Teaching Only (Campus)
782923-3523
NI Academic Site License - Multism Teaching Only (Campus)
780387-65
NI Student Install Option, Volume License
NI Based Laboratory Configurations (EE Circuits Lab, 30 Workstations) Part Number
Description
780381-02 (Q=30)
NI ELVIS II+ Hardware
781025-01 (Q=30)
NI ELVIS Digital Electronics Board
781725-01 (Q=30)
Emona Signals & Systems Experimenter
783651-01 (Q=30)
Quanser HVAC Trainer
783555-0X (Q=30)
NI VirtualBench (VB-8012) All-in-1 Instrument
783538-01 (Q=30)
VirtualBench Binding Post Adaptor
780284-01 (Q=30)
NI SP200B 10:1 and 1:1 Switchable Passive Oscilloscope Probe, 60V
184698-01 (Q=30)
DMM P-2 probe set, Includes 2 Alligator Clips, 2 Spade Connectors, 2 Spring hooks
780593-01 (Q=30)
BNC to BNC Cables, 50W, Male Both Ends, 12", qty 2
780594-01 (Q=30)
Banana Jack Cable, Male both Ends, 12", Black and Red
784413-01
NI VirtualBench and Multisim Circuits Textbook Companion
NI Based Laboratory Configurations (Mechanical Eng., Controls & Mechatronics Lab, 30 Workstations) Part Number
Description
780381-02 (Q=30)
NI ELVIS II+ Hardware
781025-01 (Q=30)
NI ELVIS Digital Electronics Board
783649-01 (Q=30)
Quanser DC Motor Control
781032-01 (Q=30)
Quanser QNET Mechatronics Sensors
783652-01 (Q=30)
Quanser QNET VTOL 1DOF Helicopter
780294-01 (Q=30)
Quanser Rotary Inverted Pendulum
783759-01 (Q=30)
NI NI myRIO (MYRIO-1900) Includes Wifi and MSP Connector
783069-01 (Q=30)
NI myRIO Kits: Mechatronics Kits (for MyRIO Project Essentials Guide)
783472-01 (Q=30)
QUBE-Servo for NI myRIO
NI Product – Ecosystem for Teaching Solutions NI Based Partner Solutions are available for specific areas that National Instruments does not cover with our own core technologies. Often, the NI platform has been augmented through our diverse set of academic partners, to offer the latest teaching tools, specifically tailored to teach vertical subject matter topics such as green energy, industrial controls and a variety of other subjects. By choosing LabVIEW and the NI platform, these academic partners are still well aligned with using the latest teaching tools and technology, but can add the special domain knowledge or industrial scale required for these specialty areas. Here are some samples available on one of our partner sites, lab-store.org. Please consult with National Instruments on the availability of these labs for your teaching and engineering lab applications.
Technology Access Program for Emerging Countries – “Planet NI” National Instruments recognizes the diverse range of economies and the limitations to access to the latest technology by small to medium enterprises (SME), especially to those with access to NI equipment during their education. In an effort to enable access to the latest technologies, Planet NI is a program that prioritizes recipients and partnerships around the world based on local needs and challenges. From providing technical training and support to connecting recipients and partners to projects and resources, employees in local NI offices are committed to the long-term success of the program and its impact to their shared communities. To extend its reach and maximize the impact of the Planet NI program, NI partners with mission-aligned global and local organizations through formal agreements and public-private partnerships. For example, NI works with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) Science program to provide technology to researchers in emerging countries working on projects with significant social and environmental impact. NI also worked with SME Corporation in Malaysia to establish a test and measurement innovation hub to provide shared technology infrastructure to SMEs and incubator startups as well as a state–of-the-art human capital development center. Additional strategic partnerships include the Acumen Fund, Berytech in Lebanon, Engineering World Health in Honduras, IdeaSpace in the Philippines, and various incubation labs in universities around the world National Instruments is committed to supporting innovation … after graduation. For more information, go to the Planet NI website at: http://www.ni.com/planetni